All Chapters of Guide Me, Claim Me: Chapter 121 - Chapter 130

When I opened my eyes again, the battlefield had gone still. The corrupted node that had loomed over us like a grotesque heart had collapsed into itself, its pulsing veins of energy vanishing into nothingness. The air, once thick with the stench of decay, felt cleaner, lighter—though the aftermath of battle still weighed heavily around us. Pain throbbed through my limbs, sharp and relentless. My fingers curled against the cracked earth, my body protesting every small movement. A low groan escaped me as I forced myself up onto my elbows. My vision swam for a second before clearing. Minseok crouched beside me, his brows furrowed in that half-scolding, half-worried expression I’d grown used to. His dark eyes swept over me, assessing, before he huffed in exasperation. “You always have to be dramatic, don’t you?” His voice was rough with exhaustion, but there was something else beneath it—relief. I let out a weak chuckle. “If you wanted someone quiet and predictable, you picked

I could barely hear myself breathe over the chaos. The clash of weapons, the crackle of energy, the heavy thuds of bodies hitting the ground—it all blurred together in a cacophony of battle. Every strike I blocked sent vibrations up my arms. Every counter I made was met with resistance. Minseok was right. If we tried to run now, we’d be slaughtered. But if we stayed— I dodged a spear aimed for my gut, twisting to the side before driving my own blade into the enemy’s exposed flank. They barely reacted, as if pain was irrelevant to them. As if they were something beyond human. Which meant they were exactly what I feared. Corrupted. Not just the mindless ones, either. These were the intelligent kind, the ones who still held onto fragments of their former selves. The ones who could strategize. Who could anticipate. Who could corner us if we weren’t careful. I gritted my teeth. We needed to break through. “Soo Min!” I shouted over the chaos. “Do you have enough energy l

The next morning, the city felt unnaturally quiet, as if it had held its breath overnight, waiting for something to shift. The sun hung low in the sky, casting long shadows on the streets, and I could almost hear the echo of our footsteps from the night before. But today, I wasn’t sure if we were walking toward an answer or deeper into the darkness.Minseok and I had barely exchanged a word since Eunji’s visit. He was quiet, too quiet. His usual confidence was overshadowed by the weight of the previous night's events. As we moved through the bustling streets, the usual vibrancy of the city seemed muted, like the sound had been turned down. People hurried on, heads down, trying to avoid the tension that hung in the air.We reached the outskirts of the district, where the more rundown buildings stood, their walls cracked and weathered. The contrast between the gleaming upper levels of the city and the poverty-stricken lower districts was always jarring, but today it felt like a stark re

It was an odd sensation, walking alongside Minseok in the dim light of the underground space, his presence both a comfort and a reminder of the growing distance between us. The air felt colder, as if the basement’s chill wasn’t enough to explain the icy tension that hung between us. Every step I took felt heavy with the unspoken words we hadn’t shared. We had come here for answers, but instead, all I felt was a growing sense of dread. The path we were on, no matter how necessary, was unraveling everything we thought we knew."Seojin," Minseok murmured, breaking the silence that had settled around us. His voice was quieter than usual, almost thoughtful. "Are you sure you’re ready for this?"I paused, glancing up at him, surprised by the concern in his eyes. "I don't know," I admitted, my throat tight. "But what else can we do? We’ve already crossed the line." He didn’t respond immediately, as if weighing my words. His eyes were distant, like he was searching for something in the flick

The man’s departure left an odd silence in the air, one that hummed with the tension of uncertainty. We stood at the edge of the safe house, the stone walls half-covered in ivy, the structure itself appearing to blend in with the forest as though it had been abandoned for years. The faint hum of the wind rustling through the trees seemed louder now, as though the world itself was holding its breath.Minseok’s hand tightened around mine again, his grip steady, but there was a flicker of hesitation in his eyes that I couldn’t ignore. "We need to go inside," he said, his voice low, but his usual calm demeanor was tinged with unease. "If he’s right about the Veil knowing we’re here, we might not have much time."I nodded, though the feeling in my chest didn’t subside. Every instinct screamed that something wasn’t right, that the man who’d led us here was hiding something. But I didn’t have time to question it, not now.Together, we stepped toward the small wooden door of the safe house. I