Good Luck or Bad Luck (3)
An empty clearing deep in the woods, thick with a strange, uneasy tension.
Now what?
Lee Jinhyuk swallowed hard. He couldn't settle the restless edge of his nerves. Stealing glances at the three figures across from him, he thought it through.
Three men and a woman who looked every bit the villains. They were staring straight at him, and the look in their eyes was anything but ordinary.
I already showed them Sword Qi Projection, and one of their own is badly hurt… They're not seriously planning to keep coming, are they?
A thin thread of tension clung to Jinhyuk's face. He had deliberately blocked their magic with his sword and unleashed Sword Qi Projection, staging a threatening display of power and circumstance. A kind of bluff, you could call it.
He had no idea what their goal was, but fighting some unidentified powerhouse wouldn't do them any favors. So instead of ducking their sudden barrage of magic in an undignified scramble and bolting while sniping arrows as he ran, he had chosen to stand his ground and cut the spells apart with his blade. He wanted to plant the impression that he might possess some unsettling ability.
He had also released a considerable amount of mana in the form of sword qi and dealt the mage a critical wound. Thanks to the relic's effect—amplifying absorbed mana by one and a half times when released all at once—he had been able to punch through the woman's defensive magic.
To them, then, Lee Jinhyuk's image would be that of an unidentified swordsman who could cleave even powerful magic in a single stroke and use Sword Qi Projection on top of it. They couldn't gauge his exact skill, but from everything he had shown in those few moments, they would never take him for an easy mark.
Of course, they might have some reason they absolutely had to kill that pair of man and woman over there—but they didn't necessarily have to do it right now, did they? Their comrade was badly injured. Wouldn't a tactical withdrawal and some regrouping be the smarter move all around?
"……"
And yet the dual-blade man looked ready for a fight. The way he gripped his sword hilts and slowly stirred his mana, it wouldn't have been strange if he charged in that very second.
Shit. It didn't work.
Jinhyuk cursed inwardly and slipped his left hand into his coat, closing his fist around several sheets of parchment charged with powerful magic. Magic scrolls—one of the supplies he had brought to deal with the beasts living in these woods. They were expensive enough that no one short of a large-scale clan would casually buy them.
His bag also held any number of useful items sleeping quietly inside: special arrows for large beasts, smoke orbs, clay grenades, electric wire, a stun gun, and more. Used well, they could take down most ordinary villains without much trouble.
Most ordinary villains, that is.
Jinhyuk allowed himself a tense, bitter smile. The reason he hadn't opened with the magic scrolls was that the dual-blade man didn't seem like an ordinary villain at all. He was the one who had spotted Jinhyuk even while Jinhyuk was suppressing his presence. If Jinhyuk had tried to pull items from his bag and coat to fight, a very dangerous situation might have unfolded. That man didn't look like the type to give him the opening.
He had already watched Jinhyuk shear through defensive magic in a single stroke of Sword Qi Projection, and instead of retreating he still looked eager for a fight. He probably thought he could handle it. Maybe the man was more than Jinhyuk could manage as things stood. Cold sweat beaded at Jinhyuk's temple.
"……Hoo."
Is this happening? Damn it, I don't even know anymore.
Jinhyuk steeled himself. He had tried to force a retreat with bluffing, but there was no helping it now. He would have to face them somehow with the items he had.
The moment he reached into his coat for a magic scroll with that resolve—
"……You. Don't tell me?"
"……?"
Out of nowhere, the man's eyes shook hard. The face mask hid his expression, but the violent tremor in his gaze was plain to see—wariness, unease, tension, all of it packed into that look.
Why, though?
"……Damn it."
Mateo spat a curse so quiet it barely carried. The thought that the young man might be the Vigilante set his whole body trembling. His mouth went dry; he swallowed without meaning to. A chill ran down his spine for no good reason.
The memory of that day tore through Mateo's mind in a chaotic mess. Because the man they had called the Vigilante was a shard of a nightmare he never wanted to remember—a nightmare he never wanted to face again. The memory of comrades he had shared meals with for so long being butchered by a single man's hands had settled into Mateo as pure trauma. Back then, hadn't he fled alone in the most pathetic way, even as his comrades' voices rang out behind him? Just to save his own skin. Like so much trash.
Could that man really be the same bastard from back then?
Mateo bit down hard on his lower lip. The ordinary-looking sword the man was holding—he remembered clearly the green gem set into the guard. Every time a dim light rose from that green jewel, his comrades had screamed and collapsed.
So was that man the Vigilante after all?
That pathetic sword form… was it a taunt? Or was he deliberately leaving openings to draw us in?
Cutting magic, launching Sword Qi Projection, punching through defensive spells—for everything he had shown so far, his movements had seemed strangely clumsy. But if you recalled the way the Vigilante used to mock people, it made perfect sense. A Vigilante who treated villains like insects rather than human beings would absolutely put on a clumsy act just to mock them.
"Captain? What's wrong?"
"……"
Lee Han called to him in a quiet voice, unsettled by Mateo's unexpected silence and hesitation. The always-composed Mateo was wound far too tight. Lee Han felt a restless edge creep into him as well. Was that man skilled enough to put the captain on edge like this?
Mateo was a specialist in human combat. Against large beasts he might fall short of Lee Han or Park Suyeong, but in a fight against people there wasn't even a hill for them to climb. For Mateo to be this tense meant the young man was no ordinary opponent. The hiking hat that blocked UV light and the cool multi-scarf pulled up over his nose made it impossible to see his face clearly—but had the captain figured out who he was?
"……If we pull back."
"Ah."
"……If we pull back quietly, will you let us go?"
"C-Captain?"
Lee Han couldn't help being shocked. Even with Park Suyeong injured, he had never imagined Mateo would simply stand down. And saying will you let us go quietly meant that if the other side refused, even retreating would be a struggle against this opponent, didn't it?
Ah—wait, the scarf…… Whew. Almost slipped.
Just then Jinhyuk noticed the multi-scarf covering his face up to his nose starting to slide down and quickly tugged it back into place. A summer hiking cool scarf. Wet it and wear it on a climb and it kept your neck nice and cold. He was glad he had it on. The thought that a fully exposed face could mean retaliation later made him pull the multi-scarf up firmly. The odds were vanishingly low, of course—but you never knew. Korea was a small country. They might cross paths by chance.
Anyway, it's a relief that man's offering to pull back quietly.
Whether the bluff had worked or there was some other reason, he couldn't say for sure—but a clean retreat was something he would gladly welcome. Jinhyuk had nothing to gain from clashing with them either. They seemed like villains, sure, but honestly he had no reason to risk his life fighting them. It wasn't as if they were mortal enemies.
"If you won't let us leave quietly, then so be it. We'll just have to take their lives with us."
No, I'm going to let you leave quietly. Please just go……
Unaware of Jinhyuk's thoughts, Mateo let killing intent roll off him in a low, sunken voice as he looked at Roxanne and Kim Deoko. His expression was resolute, as if he meant to take Roxanne's and Kim Deoko's lives no matter what, even if he died doing it. The killing intent poured out so blatantly that goosebumps rose along Roxanne's skin. The fine hairs on her arms stood on end; she had no choice but to swallow hard.
She could tell that when this man had fought Kim Deoko, he hadn't shown his true ability. Killing intent this dense and clinging was something she had almost never felt in her entire life. And someone of that caliber was trying to withdraw? Just who was that young man……
"……What's it going to be?"
Mateo fixed Jinhyuk with a hard stare, eyes wide. In truth he had no intention of risking everything to kill Kim Deoko and Roxanne. It was a kind of bluff. Hostage games like this only worked on heroes, of course—but the Vigilante was something of a hero in his own right. The problem was that he treated villains like insects; in practice he went around purging them more heroically than actual heroes did. Even so, there was no way to know whether a threat like this would land. He might simply hate villains and punish them for that alone.
So Mateo could only watch Jinhyuk with tense eyes—and after a stretch of silence, Jinhyuk gave a small nod, as if to say get lost.
For an instant Mateo felt relief. The tension didn't leave him, but he couldn't help the easing in his chest. Damn it all.
"Good. Then……"
Mateo glanced sideways at his teammates. Lee Han and Park Suyeong looked a little bewildered, but they nodded without protest, trusting Mateo's judgment. Then, slowly, they began to back away, eyes fixed on Jinhyuk, Roxanne, and Kim Deoko—as if, should Jinhyuk attack, they meant to take Roxanne and Kim Deoko with them no matter what. Weapons raised high, never loosening the thread of tension so they could answer a surprise strike at any moment, they watched and retreated.
Step by careful step they backed away, until at last they shrank to distant dots and vanished.
Haa……
Only once they were out of sight could Jinhyuk ease the tension a little. He had thought he was truly screwed, but somehow it had worked out. How was he supposed to wander around alone after something this terrifying? Why were people like villains prowling around out here? He had only come to farm a single Subspace Ring. What kind of disaster was this?
That thing never showed up, though. I figured it would come midway through.
Maybe because the cave where the Great-Horned Black Boar nested wasn't close enough. In the end the Great-Horned Black Boar never appeared. The reason Jinhyuk had deliberately launched Sword Qi Projection at the woman mage had been a calculated gambit of its own—to draw blood and lure the Great-Horned Black Boar. The beast was extremely sensitive to the scent of a woman's blood; he had thought a heavy bleed might bring it crashing in to wreck the place. If a blood-frenzied Great-Horned Boar attacked the woman mage, he could use the opening to run or join the attack—he had sketched out any number of plans. But anyway. Since they had withdrawn on their own, it was just as well the boar never came.
"Um……"
Then a woman spoke up carefully.
"Thank… you……"
A woman he was meeting for the first time—and yet the voice felt faintly familiar. Jinhyuk didn't recognize the disguised face of Roxanne. It only sounded like a voice he had heard somewhere, so he tilted his head for a moment before giving it a small shake and letting the thought go. Plenty of people had similar voices. No point dwelling on it now.
Jinhyuk pulled a healing potion from his bag and held it out to the woman—meaning for her to use it on the man with the wounded shoulder. Healing potions were expensive, but between the money he had already made in stocks and the money he would make going forward, it barely registered as a burden.
"Thank you, but I can't just take this without—"
"A beast might come, drawn by the smell of blood."
With that single line, Jinhyuk turned and walked away. There was nothing to gain from getting further involved with them. The villains might come back. Or, as he had said, a beast might come for the blood scent. He had no further obligation to help, so he hurried on his way. The kindness he could offer right now was limited to handing over a healing potion. In a situation like this, that was more than enough.
"……"
Roxanne watched Jinhyuk's back for a moment, then abruptly uncapped the healing potion and poured it over Kim Deoko's wound. As she started walking with a somewhat recovered Kim Deoko, she thought.
The hat and multi-scarf had kept her from seeing the man's face clearly, but from the glimpses she caught and from his voice, he seemed about her age—or maybe a year or two off. To have that level of skill at roughly the same age as her. Between Seong Yura and this man, the world seemed full of powerhouses Roxanne simply didn't know about.
And yet… something about him. She felt like she had seen that man somewhere before. She couldn't be sure without a clear look at his face, but the sense that she had met him before was distinct. Was it just her imagination? Or had they crossed paths once? As she was now, Roxanne had no way of knowing.