Chapter 144
Chapter 144
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Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter: 144
Chapter Title: Urban Life (4)
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1.
A wave of visceral revulsion churned through Siwoo's gut.
He was just some random middle-aged guy he'd never met before.
Nothing more than a stranger bumped into by chance at Citizen's Park.
If not for this, they would've ignored each other and gone about their separate business.
But when that homunculus, its maw stained bright red with the man's blood, bared its teeth at Siwoo...
He felt a fierce surge of killing intent.
It was only natural in the wild.
All creatures in nature eat to survive and flee to stay alive.
Modern civilization, with its separation of dining tables from slaughterhouses, has left few people who truly feel that reality today.
And so, the inhuman feast unfolding before his eyes hit Siwoo like a thunderbolt.
Citizen's Park was little more than a gentle hill.
The man had probably come here for his health.
Maybe one of his family members had nagged him to lose some belly fat.
Right now, they might be worrying about the breadwinner coming home too late.
He had a life.
A story.
Was a human lifetime really something that could end as just one meal?
"Hah!"
The shadow spear slipped from Siwoo's hand, flying faster than his shout.
Its afterimage looked like a black line slashed across the air with a brush.
The homunculus reacted swiftly.
It twisted its body with nimble grace, dodging the attack—softness unimaginable for such a massive frame.
Clearly marking Siwoo as a threat now, it kicked off the ground with its hind legs, closing the twenty-meter gap in the blink of an eye.
-Boom!
"Kuh!"
The clash rang out.
Siwoo thrust his shield forward to brace, only to tumble backward.
The shadow armor and shield conjured by magic.
They outperformed standard plate armor entirely.
They actively dispersed and deflected external impacts, even nullifying some magic effects.
Yet a mere body slam had sent him flying back like he'd been hit by a truck.
Siwoo was struck anew by the fact that his opponent was a homunculus.
It might look like a big dog at a glance, but it was a combat weapon crafted by the Creation Witch.
He scrambled up, readjusting his shield.
A chill ran down his spine.
Without the armor supporting his whole body, would his spine have snapped backward?
"Grrr..."
Meanwhile, Siwoo's resistance seemed to catch the homunculus off guard.
Unlike its earlier momentum as it pounced on defenseless prey, it now crouched low, growling at him.
Was it because he'd lived so long steeped in boredom and inertia?
The rapid thump of his heart, pounding like a headache, rang crystal clear in his ears.
Siwoo raised his shield to chest level, guarding his neck and heart, while reshaping his spear.
A spear's effective attack range was limited to thrusting at a "point."
Meanwhile, the monster bounced around like a rubber ball, attacking at high speed.
In such cases, a weapon with a broader attack area—a "line" attack—would be more efficient.
The optimal form was a sword.
A blade over a meter long.
A crossguard to keep his hand from slipping onto the edge.
Siwoo had never trained in Western swordsmanship, let alone held a real blade.
But that didn't matter.
Shadows had no weight anyway.
As long as he could stab or slash with the sharpened edge, that was enough.
Then.
The homunculus, crouched low, launched its next assault.
Not just charging across the ground—it leaped, kicking off trees, moving freely across all axes in flashy zigzags through the darkness.
Fast, as expected.
Like a motorcycle ignoring gravity, full throttle, darting every which way.
"Hup...!"
Siwoo calmly tracked its movements before swinging his shield at the beast diving from directly above.
It wasn't a wild swing.
Siwoo lacked fancy tricks like mana-enhanced strength; doing it raw would snap his arm or dislocate his shoulder.
Instead, he channeled mana into the armor like wearing a powered suit, boosting its rigidity and striking power.
-Boom!
"Yelp!"
Unlike his earlier pathetic tumble, Siwoo stood firm without budging.
The homunculus, thrusting its maw into the shield and taking a direct hit, yelped like a dog on a hot summer day and flopped to the ground.
This was the moment Siwoo had aimed for.
He swung the longsword he'd prepared earlier with full force.
-Crunch!
The longsword blade dug dully into the monster's neck.
An eerie sensation.
Like slicing through thick rubber, true to its appearance?
The heavy vibration transmitted through the hilt was pure displeasure.
"Gurk... grrrk...!"
Siwoo ground the blade harder into the foaming, dying homunculus.
The shadow sword had already bitten deep into the neck.
The armor's added pressure sheared through its head like an industrial cutter.
"Hoo... hoo..."
Even decapitated, the homunculus twitched its limbs like a fish for a good while before dying.
Siwoo calmed his still-racing heart and dispelled the armament enveloping his body.
He'd killed it.
Won.
"Fuck..."
He collapsed onto the spot.
It hadn't been stronger than expected, but not something he could kill easily either.
Had his shield bash missed, crushed by its mass and speed—who knows what would've happened.
Exhaustion made his sweat-soaked body feel leaden.
Even a street brawl drained you; life-or-death hunting went without saying.
He swept back his sweat-drenched bangs and caught his breath.
He needed time to think.
As he sat there steadying himself, the bizarre homunculus corpse peeled away layer by layer, leaving only charcoal-like stains before vanishing.
In the center lay an empty crystal.
Siwoo silently picked it up.
At a glance, it resembled a Gnosis egg.
The difference? No mana, no magical properties.
Just a glass bead.
"........."
Siwoo shoved it roughly into his pocket and turned toward the observation deck.
The man had been gutted, entrails spilling—slim chance of survival.
Still, he had to check.
What if, by some miracle? Maybe he could still save him if he acted now.
Siwoo staggered to the deck.
Nothing was there.
No corpse half-eaten by the homunculus moments ago, not even the dark red bloodstains or organ scraps on the ground.
Gone, as if it had never existed.
Only crimson streetlights illuminated the empty pavement.
"........."
He didn't know what to say.
Was it a relief not to see the gruesome corpse? Did that make him trash?
"Ha... ha..."
For some reason, laughter bubbled up.
Hollow laughter.
2.
Back home, Siwoo showered with cold water right away.
His clothes, soiled with dirt and sand that had wormed into his armor during the tumble, went into the laundry basket.
"Homunculus..."
Siwoo knew little about homunculi in detail.
Guardians protecting the Creation Witch's legacy.
They existed dormant as crystals, awakening randomly to wander the world enveloped in shadow realms.
Each wielded different magic, making them tricky to hunt—even seasoned witches were advised against it.
That was it.
The books he'd read mentioned only that much.
But what was that scene today?
A homunculus devouring a human.
And the corpse vanishing cleanly the moment he looked away.
"Ha..."
Siwoo let out a hollow chuckle.
According to Countess Gemernai, the homunculus population in the present world was surging.
With his stigma, she urged extra caution.
Why they hunted humans instead of witches, he didn't know.
But it was hard to believe the scene he'd stumbled on was unique.
Similar incidents must be happening across Korea, the world.
So why hadn't people noticed yet?
"Obvious."
Reasoning from the facts led to an easy conclusion.
Hadn't Siwoo experienced it himself?
Eaten by a homunculus, his lifeline severed, erased from this world entirely.
No longer worthy of mourning, reduced to beast fodder.
Siwoo turned off the shower, toweled off roughly, and headed to his room.
He flopped onto the sofa and cracked a beer.
It was his first time seeing a person die.
From a distance, like watching a movie—no huge shock.
Or maybe he was numb.
His mind blank, only the homunculus's wet tearing sounds echoing.
Then it hit him.
That murky shape clinging to the department store billboard when he returned to the present world.
Gone by the time he rushed over.
"That was a homunculus too?"
How many still lurked in this world?
Were tons of people dying to them?
What could he do about it?
"........."
In the past, he wouldn't have known.
Even knowing, powerless.
But now was different.
Siwoo could see homunculi, fight them.
With so much at his disposal, could he just stand by?
Shouldn't he hunt down the remaining threats?
"Not my problem."
On the flip side, Siwoo wouldn't lose to average homunculi.
He could dodge or fight back.
No downsides to choosing not to hunt them.
Besides, he was laying low in the present world.
Thrashing around hunting them might catch another witch's eye—who knew how it'd spiral.
Siwoo glanced at the ring on his finger.
Black-and-white twisted silver.
A ring symbolizing Gemernai Company patronage.
It might resolve most troubles, but...
"Forget it."
Siwoo shook out his wet hair.
He might finally catch some sleep tonight.
Taking risks on flimsy justice—with unconfirmed info, viable alternatives—was for textbook heroes.
Siwoo didn't see himself as that grand.
He returned to his room and lay on the bed.
"........."
Just think of them as victims of a natural disaster.
Unlucky folks, that's all.
Today's uncle was tragic, but unavoidable.
Cowardly excuse, self-justification to others—
To Siwoo, it was life-or-death.
3.
"Damn it, I'm the crazy one."
In the end, Siwoo dragged himself out of bed, muttering curses as he headed back to the hill where he'd felled the homunculus.