Chapter 57
"I accept! Give me the power to judge those bastards!"
Was that answer enough?
The spirit and will of Durendal, the one who speaks for justice, now dwell within you. So long as justice stands with you, he will never leave your side.
Blue mana burst out of him as if his whole body were exploding. It surged through wounds that should have left him on the threshold of death and healed them in an instant. The storm of blue mana roared as though it would swallow everything in its path, then quickly subsided.
"An SS-Class mana reaction!"
"Vice Guild Master! You need to get out of here now!"
"W-What?"
The moment Hye-ri's escorts tried to move in panic,
"Kyyaaaaaaah!"
Hye-ri let out a sharp scream and flailed as she fell from the sky.
"Vice Guild Master!"
"Form a cover formation!"
The escorts rushed to the ground to check on her. Then they froze in horror. Hye-ri's left arm was gone, and bright red blood was spurting out in thick gushes, pooling on the ground beneath her.
BOOM!
"W-What was that!"
The explosion kicked up a cloud of dirt and blocked their view.
"H-Hurry and clear the dust!"
At the team leader's order, the mage hunter raised a wind spell and swept the dust away. Hyun-jun, who had been pinned by more than ten spears only moments ago, now stood unharmed. Mana flooded from his body with explosive force. The faint outline around him looked almost like armor.
"A-Aura Armor..."
Hye-ri's escorts trembled in fear at the sight of Aura Armor, a technique so difficult to control that only hunters of S-Class and above could usually wield it with stability. Three of the five escorts were A-Class hunters and the remaining two were B-Class, but their strength was nowhere near enough to face the overwhelming presence of Kang Hyun-jun before them.
"I-It hurts... it hurts..."
Hye-ri lay there, bleeding out. She had always raided dungeons from the safety of the guild's protective walls, so pain was something she had never grown accustomed to.
"Protect the Vice Guild Master!"
Though the situation was grim, the escorts formed up to defend her.
"Aura Spear."
Hyun-jun murmured the activation word in a cold voice. A spear of pure aura formed in his raised hand, then he hurled it with force. Cutting through the wind, the Aura Spear pierced the neck of the beastman standing behind them. An S-Class lower-tier monster died in a single strike. Hye-ri's escorts were left speechless.
"This is insane..."
"A-monster..."
"Th-The aura is enormous!"
Fear began to take over.
"W-Wait, that... 'Radiance'... Ahn Hyun-ji?"
The Aura Blade was so large and vivid it called to mind Ahn Hyun-ji of Cheon-Ui, one of the Six Guardians and among the six strongest hunters in Korea.
"Aaaah!"
One of them could not hold out and ran. Hyun-jun cast him a flat glance, then threw a shield. Spinning through the air, the shield took on a razor-sharp Aura Blade midway through its flight.
"Wha...?"
The fleeing B-Class hunter was cut clean in two. He collapsed to the ground with a look of utter disbelief on his face.
"It's useless."
His voice was cold. Calm to the point that even killing intent could not be felt from it, and yet Hye-ri's escorts still had no choice but to quake in fear.
"You all die here."
"S-Strike first!"
Hye-ri's escorts drew their weapons at once. While the B-Class recovery hunter poured healing into Hye-ri, the remaining three A-Class hunters bared their malice toward Hyun-jun.
"Lightning Storm!"
One of them shook his staff and shouted the activation word. From the sky, more than ten bolts of lightning crashed down, all aimed at Hyun-jun. While the storm of lightning raged, the other two A-Class hunters closed the distance.
"Useless."
He swept a hand toward the sky, and the lightning storm scattered and vanished as if it had never been there at all.
"M-Magic destruction?"
The mage hunter was stunned.
"M-Move in!"
"Understood! Boss!"
They shouted boldly and launched their attack. Fast and lethal, as befitted A-Class hunters, but in Hyun-jun's eyes their movements were as slow as footage dragged through a high-speed camera. He calmly raised his sword.
"Kraaaah!"
One of them was struck by the swing and collapsed, screaming as blood spilled from his body.
"Telekinetic sword."
The Butcher's Dagger, drawn from his waist, floated into the air.
"What now... urk!"
The Butcher's Dagger pierced the hunter's throat and flew onward, dancing with Hyun-jun's hand movements as it headed for the place where Hye-ri stood. It slammed into the chest of the A-Class mage hunter who had been guarding her side.
"Aaaahhh!"
The terrified B-Class recovery hunter drew a short sword to counter the dagger, but by then Hyun-jun was already right in front of her. He cast her a blank glance and swung his sword.
"Grrrkk..."
The B-Class recovery hunter, her throat slit, gave a dreadful sound and crumpled helplessly to the ground. Now only Joo Hye-ri remained. Unable to bear the pain, she shook her head with tears welling in her eyes.
"P-Please... spare me..."
"Don't worry. I'm not planning to kill you right now."
A faint smile touched the corners of Hyun-jun's mouth. But only for a moment. He could already feel the limits of the descent approaching. At this rate, once the descent ended, he might lose consciousness from the backlash of using such overwhelming power. If that was the case, then everything had to be finished now.
He destroyed the control stone, stopping the gate's function. Stripped of its function, the gate began to collapse slowly. Watching it fall apart, he brought the radio up to his mouth.
"Is Ha Jong-seo there?"
He was certain the descent was nearing its end. His voice was already weak.
-Yes. This is Ha Jong-seo.
Jong-seo answered from the executive division's private line.
"Safety has been secured. Have you confirmed the monsters are down?"
-Yes. The monsters are falling.
"Come here before anyone else and secure Joo Hye-ri."
-I'll move there immediately.
There were no questions. He only acted. And soon after, when Jong-seo arrived with two executive division hunters and confirmed Hye-ri was being placed into a body bag, Hyun-jun collapsed weakly to the ground.
The descent was over.
*
[Shadow Behind You.]
It was Hashashin's nameplate. Hyun-jun pushed the door open without the slightest hesitation. At the end of the deep darkness stood a handsome young man with black hair, dressed in noble formalwear.
"The envoy of justice has arrived."
It might have sounded mocking at first glance, but Hashashin's voice was still friendly. He smiled and welcomed Hyun-jun in.
"It's been a while, Hashashin."
"For you, perhaps it was not such a long time. But for me, who has lived on since that day, it was but a moment."
Deep sorrow bled through Hashashin's voice. Hyun-jun wanted to ask about the "that day" and the "vow" his past lives spoke of, but the atmosphere made it feel as though he should not, so he let the thought go.
"I made this opportunity today because I had advice to give you."
Hashashin began to walk. He came slowly toward Hyun-jun and stopped about two meters away.
"Go on."
Hyun-jun's voice was calm. If it was Hashashin's advice, it would surely be useful. That said, he had no intention of trusting it blindly.
"I saw that you captured the one who opposed you this time."
"So you were watching."
"Of course. We are always watching you."
It was a slightly chilling line. Taken literally, it meant he had no private life at all.
"Yes. I captured her with Durendal's help. But the entire faction seems to be opposing me, so I'm thinking about how to handle it."
He had confirmed that Jong-seo had secured Hye-ri and hidden her away before losing consciousness, so she would be safe within Wraith's territory. What worried him was the Great Demon Guild.
"I'll become a villain if I have to, to protect my people, but I'm worried about the fallout."
"Do not seek to become a villain. Kang Hyun-jun, you must not become one."
At the unexpected answer, Hyun-jun widened his eyes and looked at Hashashin. For an assassin skilled enough to bear the title Shadow Behind You, he had expected advice to seize whatever advantage he could, even if it meant becoming a villain.
"If you intend to walk a road stained with blood, then do not become a villain. Become a nightmare instead."
Hashashin paused for a moment and took a step closer. Then he spoke again.
"Do you know how to utterly crush an enemy and keep them completely subdued?"
"Kill them?"
Even as he answered, Hyun-jun was startled by his own words. In the past, the word "kill" would not have come out of his mouth so easily. He could not deny that meeting his past lives had changed him.
"What if it's a situation where you can't kill every enemy in the hostile faction?"
"I'm not sure."
"Fear. Become their nightmare. Make them tremble at the mere mention of the name Kang Hyun-jun. You must cripple even the thought of resistance with terror."
Hyun-jun nodded.
"Good. That's all I had to say today. You may go now."
"Would it be all right if I stayed a little longer to train my dagger techniques?"
The room of past lives did not have time flowing through it. He could not afford to miss a chance to train. At Hyun-jun's request, Hashashin nodded and granted permission without hesitation. Hyun-jun trained until he was satisfied and then returned, and out of the darkness, someone in silver breastplate appeared.
"Sidenmiller?"
"Yes. It is I."
"You took the long road."
Hashashin spoke without turning around. Sidenmiller shrugged.
"Crossing dimensions is not easy, as it turns out. Still, I came after a long while because I wanted to say one thing."
"I don't have much time. Say it quickly."
"Do not teach Kang Hyun-jun methods more cruel than necessary. I know you have been holding back for the sake of that day, but I do not care for your methods."
The words were close to a warning, but a smile spread across Hashashin's lips instead.
"Is there any other way to survive this situation besides becoming a nightmare? You can no longer descend until Kang Hyun-jun grows strong enough, and Durendal will not awaken unless his conditions are met now."
At Hashashin's words, Sidenmiller could not answer right away. Hashashin was right. But Sidenmiller searched for a rebuttal, and before long he seemed to think of one.
"What about Istel? Could he not overcome this situation?"
"You mean the Red Mage? With Kang Hyun-jun's current mana, even if he learned that magic, he would not be able to use it properly."
In the end, Sidenmiller fell silent, and his body gradually began to fade.
"Sidenmiller. For that day to come, and for us to win the war, we need to become a little more ruthless. There have been many righteous reincarnations so far, but what was the result?"
"I know."
"I am not denying your justice, nor Durendal's."
Hashashin said it as Sidenmiller had already become much more faint.
"But once your hands are stained with blood, you need to become even more ruthless."
"I'll speak to Durendal about it."
Leaving behind a voice that still sounded dissatisfied, Sidenmiller vanished completely from the room.
"Do not worry too much. Kang Hyun-jun is doing well."
Hashashin's voice echoed through the dark room, now empty but for himself.
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