These Lunatics are Obsessed With Me

It was my first time seeing Raisu in person, and I had only my imagination to rely on since the novel offered little detail about his appearance.

Naturally, as the leader of the underworld, I pictured someone rough and intimidating, like Jang Tae-san. But to my surprise, he turned out to be such a pretty-looking man instead. I stared at Raisu in astonishment.

"Hmm."

“…”

Raisu was also staring at me intently. His gaze swept over me from head to toe, as though he were appraising an object, making me tense up instinctively.

Was he half-Korean? His hair was black, but his eyes were blue, like a foreigner’s. His skin was too pale for a Korean, yet he didn’t look sick or weak, which struck me as odd.

"Pass."

"…?"

My eyes widened at his sudden words. Raisu’s smile, as if he were in a good mood, felt completely out of place given the current situation.

The other hunters were all around him, some even pointing weapons, yet he remained unnervingly calm. I blinked, feeling as though he and I were the only ones in this huge banquet hall.

"You look like a stray cat, but it seems you're already someone’s pet."

"…!"

I couldn’t believe he compared a person to a cat. Raisu’s unexpected words completely threw me off.

"Want to come to my place? I'll take good care of you."

"What do you mean…”

Raisu said with his eyes gleaming. I hesitated and stepped back. Then, Kang Yoo-hyun beside me, along with Kang Soo-hyun and Eden behind, rushed forward to block my front.

"Enough with the nonsense, Raisu.”

I heard Park Yoon-sung's sharp voice—a low, cold tone I had never heard before. His powerful aura as an S-class ranker immediately froze the atmosphere in the banquet hall.

"Why? I just came to offer my congratulations."

"Shut up…!"

A beastly growl escaped from Park Yoon-sung.

The foreign hunters, unfamiliar with the situation in Korea, looked confused, while the domestic ones were on high alert.

I couldn’t understand what Raisu was thinking. How could he come alone to a place full of high-ranking hunters?

Even though the Association claimed neutrality, it was all just a façade. I was sure he’d be captured by the hunters and thrown into prison.

There had to be something up his sleeve, but the problem was, I had no idea what it was. This wasn’t how things went in the original story. Raisu showing up alone at the welcome party and causing a ruckus was something that didn't happen!

Boom.

“What was that?”

The floor of the banquet hall shook slightly. As the tremors spread, like an earthquake, everyone's gaze shifted to Raisu.

“Fuck, attack now!”

Cha Kang-tae, unable to stand it any longer, shouted loudly. In an instant, all the hunters pointed their weapons at Raisu.

Boom!

The Association had barriers set up in every branch. In particular, the building was equipped with items designed to control hunters' abilities, but they seemed ineffective against the rankers. A massive barrage of attacks rained down on Raisu, like a bombing raid.

"Ugh…!”

If I had been alone, the impact would’ve sent me flying out of the banquet hall. Thankfully, those around me were protecting me, so that didn’t happen.

Kang Yoo-hyun stood in front of me, while Kang Soo-hyun and Eden guarded my sides. But suddenly, the wind blew so fiercely that I instinctively squeezed my eyes shut.

“…!”

When I opened my eyes a short while later, the floor where Raisu had stood was completely caved in. I looked at the mess, my eyes wide in disbelief. The spot where he’d been was now empty, with no trace of him.

Had it really ended this easily? Had we already taken down the final boss of the story?

No, it couldn’t be. That’s impossible.

Just as I was thinking this, someone suddenly shouted.

"It was an illusion!"

"…!"

A shout of anger echoed through the room, and the hunters immediately began scanning their surroundings, sensing that Raisu was likely still nearby.

Now that I thought about it, Raisu’s abilities were a complete mystery. It was hard to guess since they were never mentioned in the novel.

Park Yoon-sung or Song Cha-hyun might know something, but if they hadn’t realized the Raisu we saw was an illusion, they probably didn’t know much about his abilities either.

Damn it, how am I supposed to deal with this variable? As I frowned, someone grabbed me from behind.

"Oh?"

“…”

We locked eyes. He was one of the hunters from the Odin Guild who had been guarding me.

This was the first time I’d seen him up close, and though we hadn’t introduced ourselves, I’d seen him around enough to recognize his face.

But something about him seemed off. His glassy, unfocused eyes weren’t meeting mine. Then it hit me—I’d seen that look before. Seo Ha-joon from the Tyr Guild had the same expression when he was under Evan Lee’s Suggestion skill.

“Wait…!”

The hunter pulled me with incredible force. Just as I was about to scream, I felt something catch in my throat.

"Seriously, you guys are too easy."

"…!"

His voice was exactly like Raisu’s. How is this possible? Was he using an illusion skill to pretend to be someone else, like Evan did with an item? If not, then what on earth was going on…?

“Han Yi-jin!”

All the hunters' gazes shifted to me. Before I knew it, a sharp blade was pressed against the artery in my neck.

Damn it. After everything that happened in the Muspelheim Dungeon, I’m caught again.

As I gritted my teeth, I heard Raisu's voice once more.

"I should give the princess a gift as well."

"A gift, my ass."

"Haha."

Raisu let out an unsettling laugh as he pressed the blade against my neck. A sharp, searing pain shot through me, and I clenched my jaw.

"Ugh…"

"I heard drinking your blood can enhance one’s abilities too?"

"Damn it…"

As expected, Raisu found out. Was that why he came all the way here to abduct me, causing all this chaos? I frowned and tried to move my thumb, but a large hand twisted it ruthlessly.

"Argh!"

"Same trick doesn't work twice, kid."

"Ugh, let go…!"

Raisu knew the details of Evan and Baek Si-hoo's situation. Both of them must have made it out of the dungeon safely. This was really the worst.

"I didn’t need to throw you into the dungeon. I could make a lot of money just by drawing your blood and making potions."

"…!"

I hadn't thought of that. But now that I did, I wondered why it hadn't crossed my mind sooner.

Of course, directly applying the auxiliary skill would be far more effective, but if a bunch of dungeon raiders consumed my blood potions and got even a little stronger, the success rate of their raids would rise, and the clearing time could be cut down significantly.

And even if it wasn’t about dungeon raids, there were plenty of hunters who wanted to get stronger.

Take Han Yi-jin, for example—he was so desperate to escape the Loki Guild that he resorted to experimenting with a suspicious machine, which led to him switching bodies with me.

Even so, there would always be people looking for potions to satisfy their own desires.

“Hm, I don’t think I’ll be taking you today. There are just too many obstacles.”

“…!”

“I'll give you a gift instead.”

A gift? What nonsense has he been rambling on about? I gritted my teeth and shouted.

“You getting the hell out of here would be a gift, you bastard!”

“Such a sharp tongue, so cute.”

“You crazy bastard.”

Is the Laufey Guild made up of crazy people? The moment when I contorted my face with that thought—

Rumble!

“The floor…!”

The floor shook even more violently, and I struggled to keep my balance. Raisu held my unsteady body firmly.

"Looks like it's about time."

"What… are you trying to do?!"

"We'll see."

Though I couldn’t turn around, I was certain he was grinning mischievously. Then, with a loud sound, the floor of the banquet hall cracked open.

“If you don’t solve it by midnight…”

“What?”

"Then you will fall into an eternal sleep, Princess."

“What nonsense are you…!”

Confused by his words, Raisu suddenly pushed me. Huh? Before I could react, my body fell through the crack. I caught a glimpse of him, and Raisu was smiling. His lips moved as he mouthed something.

‘Bye, see you again.'

At the same time, I heard someone calling out to me.

“Han Yi-jin……!”

I felt someone pull me into an embrace. The bottom of the cracked banquet floor was swallowed by darkness as I helplessly fell downward.

"Ugh…”

I opened my eyes a moment later.

“This place….”

I glanced around at the dark surroundings when someone shouted loudly. As I turned toward the sound, someone's face suddenly appeared in my line of sight.

"Yi-jin-a, are you awake?"

"Eden?"

Eden looked down at me with a concerned expression. Was he the one who had caught me? Well, considering Eden's wind ability, he was undoubtedly the fastest.

But what about the others…? As I was lost in thought, another loud voice suddenly echoed around us again.

"How do you plan to take responsibility for this?"

"…"

What was going on? I looked at the crowd in the corner, stunned.