A tall woman stands before me.
Her coat flutters dramatically, completely mismatched with the weather.
Then again, I'm not one to talk—I've got my hoodie up.
The next thing that catches my eye is her tanned skin and sultry face.
And the empty sleeve hanging limply on one side of her coat.
"Who are you…?"
Even in a life-or-death situation, I had to ask.
Who is this person?
Instead of answering, she slowly licks her red lips with her tongue—
like she's found something delicious.
Amazingly, with just one arm, she's holding back the massive weight of the toad.
Watching her slim forearm brace against the creature's bulk—
it was something I wouldn't have believed even if I saw it with my own eyes.
"Why are you using a butcher's knife to cut a chicken? Black Aether isn't meant to be used like that."
She muttered something cryptic, then grunted, "Hup," and flicked her arm.
Thud!!
And then something unbelievable happened.
The giant toad staggered backward a few steps.
Even if this was happening in a video game, you'd still complain that the physics engine was broken.
"...!!"
What was that about a knife? And what's Black Aether?
I had a million questions, but first, there was something I needed to say.
"Thank you… for saving me."
Even if my life is on borrowed time, she had just saved it.
And someone this powerful might even be able to save my sister.
She scanned me from head to toe with a strange expression, then smirked.
"You're… ridiculously nice, aren't you?"
I could only stare at her in confusion.
I'd never really thought of myself as a good person.
Most days, I just cursed my cursed body and tried to get by.
But her eyes were filled with what looked like genuine admiration.
Weird.
It didn't seem like she was impressed by my thanks—but something else entirely.
"You're Haeseon, right?"
"Yeah."
"I'm Kiril. Same type as you—a Poisoner."
Poisoner?
I feel like I've heard that term somewhere before.
Someone who used to be a force to reckon with…
but has now all but vanished.
"…A traitor…"
The word slipped out before I realized it.
Kiril's eyes turned ice-cold for a second.
But then she smiled playfully, as if nothing had happened.
"Haha. I'll let it slide since we're both Poisoners. But call me that again, and I'll pinch you."
"..."
"We can clear up the misunderstandings later. For now—don't you think we've got some cleaning up to do?"
Pop!
With that, Kiril vanished from my sight.
Was it teleportation?
No—she had just moved absurdly fast.
"Listen carefully, pup."
Every monster—not just me—turned its gaze toward the rooftop of a building.
The city, now devoid of people and cars, lay silent and still.
Which made Kiril's voice ring out crystal clear.
"You can be like this too—soon."
Whoosh.
I flinched in surprise.
Not at her words—but at the overwhelming aura erupting from her.
It was terrifying.
Even though she had just saved me, her power made my skin crawl.
I stared at her, frozen, a mixture of awe and fear coursing through me.
Whoosh.
Kiril raised her arm, palm facing the sky.
Then, from her hand, a blackish-red vortex began to swirl.
"!!!!!!"
Shhhhhhhhhh.
The vortex shot into the sky—then split into dozens of tendrils, raining down in every direction.
A dark crimson rain of monstrous energy from above!
Each droplet pierced the monsters that had surrounded me.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!!
-Krrrk!!
-Kyaaaaa!!!
Even the large monsters weren't spared.
The massive toad that had been eyeing her leapt at her—
But it was impaled by dozens of tendrils mid-air and let out a horrific shriek.
-KRAAAAK!!
Boom!!!
The toad crashed to the ground.
And just like that, there wasn't a single monster left alive.
With a single gesture, Kiril had wiped them all out.
"She… killed every monster with just a wave of her hand?"
Maybe it was the sheer force I had just witnessed—
But my body began to tremble slightly.
"..."
When you're truly stunned, words don't come easily.
Until Kiril returned to stand before me, I couldn't say anything.
"Toxic Rain. It's the only technique I've ever named."
"Tell me your home address."
After pulling something out of the toad's corpse, she tucked my sister under one arm and leapt across rooftops, bounding all the way to my house in a flash.
From a distance, it didn't even look like she was running—flying would've been more accurate.
There were so many things I wanted to know about Kiril.
How did she even find me in this chaos?
What was that overwhelming power?
Why did she help us?
When I finally caught up and arrived at home, she looked smug and said,
"Well? Pretty fast, right? I call this Poison Step. It's the only technique I've ever named."
Even if I don't know much, I'm sure of one thing:
She's definitely a bragger.
"Didn't you say Toxic Rain was the only one you named…?"
"Hmm? What was that? Couldn't hear you."
She cupped a hand to her ear and played innocent.
Her actions were innocently playful, but there was something strangely seductive about every little move.
"Thank you for saving us. Thanks to you, we're alive, Kiril-nim."
"Drop the '-nim.' We're past that, aren't we?"
We just met today, and she's talking like we're old friends.
She's probably the age of my youngest aunt, but she's treating me like I'm her nephew.
"Don't thank me just yet. There's still one more service left."
"Service?"
"Yeah. Your sister's in critical condition right now."
Startled, I turned to look at my sister lying on the bed.
I thought she was just grimacing in pain, but now I could see her complexion wasn't good.
Don't tell me she got poisoned back in the Gate zone…
Kiril sat next to the bed and placed a hand on my sister's forehead.
Shhhrrrrrr.
A golden light spread from her hand, flowing across my sister's body.
I'd seen something like this on YouTube once.
When a healer-type Hunter treated a Knight, it looked just like this.
But Kiril had clearly called herself a Poisoner.
How could someone who deals in poison also have healing abilities?
Does that even make sense?
"Opposites attract, right?"
She must've had eyes in the back of her head.
She read my expression and began explaining without even turning around.
"Poisoners live with all kinds of toxins in their bodies. Some people say it's because we're immune to poison—but that's total bullshit."
"Bullshit…?"
"Yep. Absolute crap. I don't care how much of a Poisoner you are, you can't survive just by feeding on poison. We're constantly healing ourselves from the inside. When we eat, poop, even when we sleep—we're always purifying it. And what's left after all that purification? Black Aether. That's the true source of a Poisoner's power."
I'd never heard anything like this before.
But then again, there wasn't much info on Poisoners to begin with.
All people seemed to know was that Poisoners once existed—and that they'd betrayed humanity.
Kiril turned to look at me and gave me a suggestive glance.
"Alright, first things first—take your clothes off."
"Huh?"
I instinctively leaned back at her sudden "proposal."
"Kyaaha! Why are you blushing? You think I'm gonna do something to you?"
"…Oh."
She looked me up and down.
How long are you planning to wear those clothes soaked in poison?
That was the message in her eyes.
If my sister really had been poisoned, just being near her like this could be a risk.
Once I caught on to her true intention, I scratched the back of my head awkwardly.
By the time I'd stuffed my clothes into a trash bag, Kiril lifted her hand from my sister's forehead.
"What's her name?"
"Chun Song-hwa…"
"She's poisoned and has a few broken ribs. And... she's carrying a ton of fatigue. This isn't something that built up in just a day or two."
Poison and exhaustion.
Those two words made my heart sink.
"She's been working a lot of overtime at the factory. My hospital bills... they've been expensive..."
"Tsk tsk... If we'd been even a little later, she might've been the one ending up in the hospital. Anyway, the immediate danger is over. Her ribs will heal soon, and she just needs proper rest now."
"...Thank you. Really."
I bowed deeply, full of genuine gratitude.
When that giant toad came charging toward us, I felt despair for the first time in my life.
But thanks to Kiril, my sister and I survived the Gate—and now she was even healing our injuries.
Considering that Kiril was a total stranger, it felt nothing short of a miracle.
And so…
Part of me couldn't help but ask.
"This might not be the right time to say this, but… my sister always told me something."
"Hmm? What did she say?"
"If you keep accepting one-sided favors from someone, there'll come a time when you have to give something back."
"..."
Kiril pouted her lips and stared straight at me.
Every time I looked at her, I couldn't help but think—she was breathtakingly beautiful.
"Even Song-hwa looks barely in her early twenties, but she talks like a battle-hardened old lady."
Kiril smiled softly and placed her hand on my forehead.
Shhhrrr.
Just like with my sister, golden light streamed from her hand and flowed into me.
A warm yet cool sensation—two things that shouldn't be able to coexist—washed over me.
At the same time, my swollen arm began returning to its original shape.
That pleasant drowsiness…
I'd only felt something like it once before—when I'd been in such severe pain that they gave me narcotic painkillers.
Even then, it didn't feel as good as this. This was on another level entirely.
I was just starting to melt into that bliss when Kiril's voice broke through.
"You're right. The day will come when you'll have to repay this favor. But that day's still far off."
"If you wait too long, it might be too late."
I gave a bitter smile as I was being healed.
"Why?"
"I don't have much time left."
Kiril blinked a couple of times, her big eyes widening.
I was terminal. At best, I had a month left.
If she wanted anything from me, she'd better hurry.
But then her expression turned playful.
She moved the hand on my forehead down to my cheek—and then pulled.
"You little brat. Acting all enlightened at your age."
"Hafffhh… (That hurts.)"
"Don't worry. You're not gonna die."
"Huh?"
"You won't die. The reason your condition worsened so suddenly is because of your awakening."
Awakening.
That miraculous moment when someone is chosen by the heavens to fight monsters.
A rite of passage every Hunter goes through.
But I'd never heard of anyone suffering as much as I did during theirs.
Most people just suddenly became stronger, or gained access to mana.
That was the usual story.
"Poisoners are special. Unique. Their awakening is different from the lower-tier types. No point asking some quack at the hospital—they won't know. Even the guild research labs probably wouldn't be much better."
Kiril kept talking, but honestly, I wasn't listening anymore.
Ba-dump. Ba-dump.
What she said earlier was still pounding in my chest.
"I… I can live?"
I asked, embarrassed, my voice barely holding back tears.
Kiril's eyes went wide—then curled into crescent moons.
"Yeah, puppy. You're not gonna die. And soon…"
She said, eyes sparkling like stars.
"You'll become the strongest being in this world."