Fate's Flip – The Vigilante's Shadow
Whether fortune smiled or frowned on him—could he even tell anymore?
Exhaustion.
“Ha… ha… ha…”
Exhaustion was the most primal emotion humans possessed.
It was the irrational feeling of terror, hatred, and dread that flooded the body when facing a specific situation or object.
This emotion, etched deep into the brain, heart, or very core of one’s genes, was undeniably essential for survival.
Humans feared the dark because they knew it threatened their lives. They feared unfamiliar creatures because they knew they could be lethal. They feared heights because they knew a fall could kill them.
Therefore, feeling terror meant sensing a threat to one’s life.
Mateo had run away with his tail between his legs for one simple reason: he was just another human, just another living being, and running was the most logical choice he could make.
After all, hadn’t he almost died at the hands of that man?
Blood dripped from the dagger clutched in his fist.
Red liquid pooled on the wallpaper and floor.
The foul stench of blood and the screams of his comrades still echoed in his ears.
These memories—vivid as yesterday—flooded his mind like a nightmare he desperately wanted to forget.
Yet the pain of the past had sharpened into thorns, lodging deep in his heart and refusing to let go.
He had been raised by Seong Yura and had almost managed to forget everything… but meeting that man here again was the last thing he had ever expected.
Why him of all people…?
“Damn… you…”
Mateo muttered the curse under his breath.
Thinking about it made him want to laugh. He wasn’t some heartless mercenary who had profited off human lives for years, was he?
He had been a hired killer, taking countless souls and sometimes even becoming the target of someone’s terror.
Once known in the underworld as the Grim Reaper, Mateo now looked utterly ridiculous.
He had fled without even drawing his blades.
Pathetic.
“Ha… hah…”
Mateo panted, wiping the sweat rolling down his temple with the back of his hand.
He had run as fast as he could, terrified the man might change his mind.
Because of that, he had completely escaped Lee Jinhyuk’s sight.
But he had also drained far too much mana and stamina.
Normal Mateo would have calculated the perfect balance and slipped away calmly.
But today he hadn’t been normal.
Trauma had broken him.
People lost in trauma often did things completely out of character—shaking, going completely numb, lashing out, or simply collapsing.
It might not be rational, but that was exactly what trauma was.
Because Mateo’s trauma had been far worse than he realized, he hadn’t been able to think straight when he realized the man might be the Vigilante.
But.
“Ha… huh… We made it this far… Right, leader?”
“……”
“Leader?”
“……”
This time he hadn’t lost his comrades.
It was absurd for a lawbreaker who preyed on others’ lives to care about his own kind.
But after dreaming of becoming a hero as a child and losing his comrades to the Vigilante’s hands, he had been forced to value them.
Even though he was now just a hired killer, Mateo had once…
Why did I end up on this path?
A fragment of the past flashed through his mind.
In the past, with high hopes, he had entered the Hero Academy, but his lack of supernatural abilities had marked him as a liability in the great monster battles.
At the time, the students had been so obsessed with superiority and the concept of elites that non-ability users like Mateo became easy targets.
During a large-scale battle training, he had accidentally crippled one of his classmates, faced endless criticism, and eventually dropped out to wander the underworld.
His heart had pounded and his mind had turned white with fear the day he committed his first murder… but now he felt nothing at all.
Guilt, horror, cruelty—none of it had lasted. Time had dulled it all.
The boy who had once dreamed of being a hero had become nothing but another villain.
“Leader, what do we do now?”
“It’s nothing.”
Mateo snapped back to attention at Han’s voice.
“How is Park Suyeong?”
“Her bleeding is heavy… she’s lost consciousness for now. I think she needs a transfusion.”
“I see. Then we should head back at once.”
Blood loss had been worse than expected. Park Suyeong remained unconscious, head bowed, her pants stained with clear red marks.
She had fainted from excessive bleeding.
“I’ll regroup and return immediately……”
At that moment.
“Leader?”
“Quiet.”
Mateo raised his daggers at an angle and scanned the bushes.
“Grrrr…”
Four sharp-toothed wolves of the blade-wood kind crept silently toward them like nocturnal hunters and hid among the shrubs.
“Grrrrr…”
Their eyes pierced him, sharp canines bared.
“A monster. They’re probably drawn by the scent of blood.”
The way the wolves swallowed hard, staring at the juicy flesh at their feet, was strangely comical.
Weak monsters that hid in the mountains, evading human eyes.
Even if Mateo was extremely weak against monsters and had exhausted nearly all his mana and stamina, these wolves were easily killable.
Han and Park Suyeong were also here.
Han was a solid tank and sub-dealer; alone he could take down one of these without much damage.
Park Suyeong was out cold, so she couldn’t help.
“Tsk. There aren’t many monsters in this forest, but if we stall, more will come because of the blood scent. Let’s finish this quickly.”
“Understood, leader.”
Han nodded.
“I’ll take care of the wolves. Han, you guard the unconscious Park Suyeong.”
“Yes, leader.”
Mateo slowly raised both daggers.
He was a non-ability user.
He had received almost no blessings from supernatural abilities or mana, making him extremely vulnerable to monsters.
To kill monsters, one needed psychological warfare, irregular timing, sharp and precise techniques—not overwhelming firepower.
To pierce the thick hide of a monster the size of a house or made of special alloys, however, sheer destructive power was the only answer.
Without powerful supernatural abilities and born with little mana, Mateo had been a poor fit for monster battles.
Monsters didn’t die from heart strikes like humans.
Many were immune to blades, and even if stabbed, they regenerated or ignored physical attacks.
But these wolves weren’t like that.
Even drained of mana and stamina, a few slashes from his daggers should finish them instantly……
Koong! Koong! Koong!
“What’s that noise?”
A massive creature was charging toward them like an enraged foal, heavy footsteps shaking the ground.
The wolves glanced back briefly, then fled the area in a hurry.
Mateo frowned and shouted at Han.
“Battle ready! Something’s coming!”
“Yes.”
Running was the best option, but Park Suyeong was unconscious, making escape difficult.
He had no choice. Mateo took a combat stance.
A short, sturdy tree was smashed aside as a massive boar charged forward.
Its horns were sharp, its hide dark and tough.
“A boar……?”
“No way, a large-horned black boar? In this forest?”
Large-horned black boar.
It could impale prey with its horns and its hide was durable enough to shrug off bullets.
On top of that, its size made it look like a living tank.
“L-Leader, that thing……”
“This is getting annoying.”
He didn’t even need to say it—the matchup was terrible.
In the academy, the large-scale monster battles had been brutal, and non-ability users like him had been eliminated early.
Powerful abilities turned students into moving targets, but without the power to pierce their hides, monsters like this were pure trouble.
He no longer had enough mana to break through that thick armor, and even if he did, the boar’s stamina was too high for quick kills.
He could have trapped it and dropped a massive area-of-effect spell, but he and Han had no such firepower.
If only Park Suyeong were conscious……
If I’d known I’d need this, I wouldn’t have left her behind.
Mateo glanced at the unconscious Park Suyeong, then back at the boar.
The large-horned black boar panted heavily, eyes fixed on Park Suyeong, clearly excited by her blood scent.
It would attack her the moment they stepped aside.
Too heavy to stop easily—extremely troublesome.
And there’s more.
Mateo spread his senses.
Several other monsters were hiding, watching for a chance.
Small in number, not particularly dangerous, but they would only add to the mess if he fought the boar or afterward.
Especially since he had to protect an unconscious Park Suyeong.
Without the firepower to one-shot the boar, he had to keep drawing its attention.
Under normal conditions, he and Han could have handled it easily.
But today his body was drained.
Stamina and mana gone. Poor matchup with the boar. Unconscious comrade. Keeping her safe while drawing attention. Hidden predators waiting for an opening……
Considering everything, the best choice was to run.
……If I use Han and Park Suyeong as bait, I can escape easily.
They were exactly that—spare parts given to a powerless Mateo.
Seong Yura had assigned them with that in mind.
Mateo had once cared for them, but in a life-or-death mission, he could make ruthless choices.
However……
“Heh, running away already, bugs?”
“No loyalty at all, huh?”
“Run like the worms you are. Your comrades will either become cripples or die.”
Why did that memory surface?
The painful memory of fleeing for his life back then.
“L-Leader, what should we do?”
“……”
Mateo unconsciously scanned Han and Park Suyeong.
If he ran now, he would doom them.
Han wouldn’t abandon his friend Park Suyeong, so the odds of both surviving were low if Mateo left them behind.
Then.
“Han, you take responsibility for Park Suyeong. I’ll distract them as much as possible.”
“What? Ah, yes.”
Mateo adjusted his mask lightly and thought.
People die when they do things they usually don’t.
But today, after facing the Vigilante……
He didn’t want to abandon his comrades like in the old days.
Unless it was an absolute death sentence, this was a situation he could handle with Han.
If they could survive this, there was no reason not to try.
Running alone like before was something he refused to do.
“Krrrooo… krrooo!”
“Hah. It’s coming.”
The large-horned black boar smashed its heavy body against the ground and charged at Mateo.
Mateo raised both daggers and faced the boar head-on.
***
How long had it been since he had parted ways with those mysterious villains?
There it is.
He lay flat in the bushes, staring at the small cave ahead.
It was probably the lair of the large-horned black boar.
Tracking by its footprints and trampled grass had led him straight to it.
The boar isn’t here. Did it go hunting?
Using his magnifying glass, he scanned the shallow cave interior, but no boar appeared.
A creature of that size couldn’t hide easily, so it was likely away for now.
He could just go inside and look for the subspace ring?
……No, that’s just a joke.
He had no desire to die.
If he entered without thinking and the boar came back, what then?
Entering a cave with no escape route and facing a large-horned black boar head-on was suicide, so he would wait until it was dead before going inside.
The boar is incredibly tough. Ordinary firepower won’t do a thing. That’s why I brought all these.
He rummaged through the quiver of special arrows made for large monsters.
The best way to deal with a boar was overwhelming firepower and absolute power.
Even a beginner like him could hunt easily if he had the right tools.
Since he already knew the lair, he could set a trap a bit further away, sprinkle a healing pack, and lure it in—everything would work out.
Then he would use magic scrolls, explosive arrows, clay grenades, and finish it with one strike.
With that much firepower, he could easily take down the large-horned boar.
So should he move now?
Good. First, let’s head to a good spot for a trap…… huh?
Koong, koong, koong!
The sound of massive footsteps approached from the distance.
Heavy movement that shook the ground slightly.
He knew there was only one creature in this forest big enough to make the ground tremble—the large-horned black boar……
It’s already back?
He turned toward the sound.
……
“Kuiiiii, kuiiiik, kuuik!”
The large-horned black boar dragged its blood-soaked body toward him.
Its entire body was drenched in blood.
One eye was gone, one horn snapped clean in two, and every inch of its hide was pierced with wounds.
Especially a dagger embedded in its side—one that one of the villains had used.
“Kuuu… kuiiiii… kuiiiii……”
Thud.
Exhausted, the boar collapsed right in front of the cave.
The strong creature panted weakly.
It was almost out of breath.
No way… did it fight those villains?
It had been chasing the scent of the female mage’s blood.
From the look of it, the villains hadn’t escaped unscathed either……
Maybe they’re dead…… There are other monsters in this forest besides the big ones.
Then had he killed it for them?
He had deliberately wounded the female mage to draw the boar.
……
He gently bit his lower lip.
His stomach twisted, but he felt nothing.
Of course he couldn’t be sure it was dead, but still……
Hah, they were villains anyway. Villains. Like with Kate, I shouldn’t overthink it.
He quickly sorted his thoughts.
He might have indirectly killed someone, but killing a villain was different.
He had made peace with that.
No need to feel gloomy.
Anyway, let’s deal with this boar quickly and find the ring.
The boar’s blood scent might draw more monsters.
Honestly, it wasn’t that dangerous anyway.
Thankfully, I can take care of the items. The boar did the hunting for me……
Hmm.
What was the point of all that?
Through so many dangerous steps, he hadn’t taken a single wound.
Today’s luck might actually be good.