Predator and Prey

Shin Haneul and I had already broken up.

Whoever she met, whoever she married, or whoever dumped her — none of it was my business anymore.

But even so, this was too much.

"I'm sorry, but I can't quite grasp the situation here?"

Hoo...

I pulled out a fresh cigarette and lit it.

At a rough glance, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠at least seven Awoken on Min Hyeokju's level.

If I clashed with them head-on...

But it wasn't as if I had no options.

No need to rush my thinking.

First, I needed ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to figure out why things had come to this.

"You'll have to come with us. Haneul, you could get hurt, so wait outside."

"Yes, oppa..."

"Heh..."

A hollow laugh slipped out of me before I could stop it.

Had she already moved on to the next guy?

When I'd sent Min Hyeokju to the hospital, I hadn't failed to anticipate a situation like this.

If a promising rookie from a major corporation suddenly lost his mana and got admitted after being beaten black and blue, even I'd find it suspicious.

He must have heard it from Min Hyeokju once he'd come to his senses and started grilling the Shin Haneul clinging to his side.

I'd figured Diamond Guild would come looking for me eventually.

So I'd been planning to plant some decent fighters around me sooner rather than later...

"Why should I go with you people? Spying on someone else's love life — what the hell is this supposed to be? Does Diamond Guild make a habit of digging into people's private affairs?"

I raised my voice on purpose.

This Kim Jaeseok bastard had clearly said it at the start.

Come with us.

The reason they wanted to change locations was obvious.

Too many eyes here.

No need to walk myself into the tiger's den.

"Let's talk here. Stop making people go back and forth for no reason."

"...That would be somewhat inconvenient."

"Oh, is that so? Well, what should we do? I'm finding this rather inconvenient myself."

"Come along quietly. I'd rather not exercise physical force in a busy commercial district like this."

"And what am I supposed to trust to follow you people? Who do you take me for, an idiot?"

"Kang Junghyeok. I don't know how impressive you really are. Looking at how you put Min Hyeokju in the hospital, you must be fairly capable. But the Awoken surrounding you right now are among the strongest even in our guild. No matter how strong you are, you won't be able to handle this many alone."

"And if I still refuse?"

"We'll drag you by force. A bone or two might get broken along the way."

I hadn't particularly held any ill will toward this bastard, but for all his clean-cut looks and calm demeanor, what he was doing was no different from the rest of them.

In the end, Min Hyeokju or this guy — same difference.

The moment they decided you were weaker than them, they treated you like a servant.

"Phew..."

I took a deep final drag, exhaled it cleanly, and crushed the butt into the ashtray.

Then I rose quietly to my feet.

The tension among the men surrounding me spiked.

These guys didn't seem to know I'd stripped Min Hyeokju of his mana.

They weren't even wearing gloves, let alone face coverings.

I'd thought a major corporation would have plenty of smart people, so maybe...

Well, they might suspect, but without hard evidence, they couldn't be sure.

"My body is precious to me too. Let's take it easy. Easy."

I extended my hand, requesting a handshake from Kim Jaeseok.

This guy was definitely stronger than Min Hyeokju.

He'd called the people around him the guild's elite with his own mouth, and yet he was still performing the role of leader among them.

In other words, he was claiming to be the top of the top at Diamond Guild.

At minimum A-1... possibly even A-10 grade mana.

I intended to confirm that right now.

Ever since meeting Park Yuri, I'd come to my own conclusion that S-rank was the domain of Transcendents.

So unless this guy was a Transcendent, the most he could have was A-10 mana.

I shook my hand again, requesting the handshake once more.

"Let's shake hands. This is a connection of sorts. Unless you're planning to take me somewhere and quietly kill me..."

Kim Jaeseok seemed the cautious type.

He just stared at my hand without moving.

But it wasn't as if I had no other options.

He wasn't wearing gloves either, so it wouldn't be difficult.

I immediately threw a punch straight at Kim Jaeseok's face.

"If you won't shake hands, that means you're going to kill me, you fucking bastards!"

Thud!

Kim Jaeseok spread his palm and lightly blocked my fist.

At the same time, the guys surrounding me lunged to rush me.

But Kim Jaeseok stretched out his other hand and stopped them.

That, however, was Kim Jaeseok's arrogance.

I'd deliberately swung my fist slowly, easy to block.

Barely using any mana at all.

Not bad, buddy.

His mana is a full A-8.

The greater the mana you possessed, the greater the sense of loss when it vanished.

I wanted to see what expression a guy who seemed to live off his own self-importance would make when he fell into despair.

But.

I didn't erase his mana.

Why?

Because I figured I could win without erasing it.

My mana was currently A-10, after all.

Yesterday had been hell — dealing with Hong Eunyoung and Lee Donggeul during the day, then facing a heat-crazed Senior An at night.

Thanks to all that suffering(?), I'd been able to raise my mana another notch.

On top of that, I had the special ability called Thought Acceleration.

My energy was at 50% full.

I no longer intended to hide my ability to erase mana, but right now I judged it was time to show the real difference in raw power.

My breathing gradually grew rougher.

My heartbeat quickened, and the time of everything in my field of vision began to flow slower and slower.

Powerful mana circulating through my entire body.

I used that force to drive a fist hard into Kim Jaeseok's abdomen.

His expression slowly twisted as he tried to counter, but every single one of his movements was laid bare before me.

I simply slipped past it and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠shifted laterally.

From his flank, I threw another punch near his ribs.

Crunch.

The sensation of bone shattering traveled up through my fist.

I'd packed mana into my knuckles the way I did when drawing a bow, and it punched through his defense more easily than expected.

If you were going to jump me, you should've worn an A-rank suit under your clothes.

"Guh—!"

I seized the head of the man howling in pain.

With my other hand, I clamped down on his throat.

Then I lifted him lightly into the air.

Only then did the subordinates charge in from behind.

I used Kim Jaeseok's entire body as a shield, keeping them from closing in.

"Hah... hah... If you don't want your boss dead... stay right where you are. Don't move a muscle."

I'd one-sidedly beaten the strongest among them.

Unless they were complete idiots, they wouldn't rush me lightly.

Kim Jaeseok thrashed belatedly, throat locked, dangling in midair.

Only then did I erase his mana.

Watching their captain reduced to complete helplessness, the men looked thoroughly rattled.

They'd been wary after what I'd done to Min Hyeokju, but their faces said they never imagined it would be this bad.

Then you should've checked who you were jumping before you jumped him.

"Hoo... One by one. Step forward. Then I'll let your boss go."

The men hesitated at my order.

I walked over slowly and erased their mana one by one.

"Ugh..."

"M-my mana..."

"Kh... This is... impossible... C-Captain!"

Once I'd stripped every last one of them, I flung Kim Jaeseok to the floor.

He slammed into a chair at another table and came to a stop.

His face had gone as pale as a man on the brink of death, and he could do nothing but cough and cough.

I returned to my seat, crossed my legs, and sat down exactly as before.

I stuck another cigarette between my lips and spoke.

"Someone come sit across from me. Let's have a little talk. If you just run, you'll never get your mana back — so keep that in mind."

I'd decided to stop fretting about the future quite so much.

These Awoken were all idiots, every last one of them.

Nothing but men who'd grown too comfortable in a world of the strong devouring the weak.

Against people like this, staying hidden was actually counterproductive.

You had to step forward first and show them an overwhelming difference in power.

That was how you cut down on the trouble that came afterward.

Not just a light scolding for daring to pick a fight — you had to make them understand a gap so vast they wouldn't even dare meet your eyes again.

That I was the predator, and they were the prey.

That was the kind of relationship I needed to establish.

To do that, I needed to increase the number of women at 100% synchronization and grow stronger still... at this rate I was genuinely going to die of overexertion in bed.

"Phew... Whose idea was it? Trying to kidnap me."

Kim Jaeseok, ribs broken, was still sprawled on the floor moaning, and the one who came and sat across from me was one of the subordinates.

The man was trembling violently.

As a high-ranking Awoken of Diamond Guild, he'd lived large — and then suddenly lost his mana, so of course he was cold.

Shaking like a man who'd stripped naked and jumped into a winter stream, he answered my question.

"D-do you know anything about our guild..."

"Roughly."

"There are executives who lead our guild, and they're all capable Awoken. Including Captain Kim Jaeseok..."

"And?"

"At an executive meeting, they ordered us to bring in the one who did that to Min Hyeokju..."

"So you used Shin Haneul. That it?"

"I don't know the details myself, but... yes."

The ones doing the using, and the bitch who got used...

Ah, fuck. How am I supposed to get revenge for this?

If they'd sent an invitation and come to pick me up in a luxury car, I would have walked over on my own two feet.

But they had to come at me dirty like this...

"Hey. You there. Go get Shin Haneul."

"M-me, sir?"

"Anyone. Just go get her, now!"

These bastards ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠only listened when you yelled.

"You — take Kim Jaeseok to a hospital. I wrecked his ribs, so healing magic won't cut it."

"Th-then... my mana..."

"Ask your colleagues about that later. I have no intention of giving it back easily."

"......"

"Get him out of here. I don't even want to look at him groaning."

"Yes..."

I'd expected at least one of them to throw a fit demanding his mana back, but there wasn't a single one. They understood the gap between an ordinary civilian without mana and an Awoken with power better than anyone.

Without even that much spine, how did they go on dungeon expeditions?

Tch...

A short while later.

The Diamond Guild Awoken who'd gone downstairs — he'd apparently been waiting on the lower floor — came back up almost immediately.

Bringing the problem herself: Shin Haneul.

Once she took in the situation, her eyes went wide like a startled rabbit's.

Hey, you fucking bitch — I was more surprised than you.

"H-how..."

"Fuck..."

"O-oppa... that is... I mean, I didn't mean for it to go this far..."

Crash—!

I snatched up the cup Shin Haneul had been drinking from and hurled it.

It shattered with a loud, messy noise.

The place was already a disaster area anyway.

Diamond Guild had money — they could clean up their own mess.

I opened my smartphone and called for her.

My secretary.

Then I turned to Shin Haneul and asked,

"Looks like you traded up to Kim Jaeseok. But what a shame — I erased that bastard's mana too."

"What? Then Hyeokju oppa's mana was also..."

"That's right. No point hiding it anymore."

"I didn't trade up to Jaeseok oppa. We're just close, and he asked me for a favor, so..."

I dug a finger into my ear with an expression of pure disgust.

Fuck, what is this girl even babbling about.

"Ah... whatever. How you live from now on is none of my business... But if something like this happens again, I really won't forgive you. So from now on, please — don't contact me. I might actually kill you next time."

"......"

"Hey!"

When I raised my voice, the men flinched.

I pointed at one of them and ordered him to get Kim Jaeseok to a hospital, fast.

Without mana, he couldn't even properly lift a grown man.

Watching him struggle alone was so pathetic I assigned him a second helper.

"Don't even think about calling your company people and blabbing about what happened here. If you do, you'll never get your mana back. Just like that bastard Min Hyeokju."

"Yes..."

If anything, the four who remained looked envious of the two carrying Kim Jaeseok out.

They were afraid of me.

But there was expectation in their eyes too.

The look that said maybe, just maybe, I'd give their mana back soon.

Yeah. Nope~

Shin Haneul stood there blankly, at a loss for words, staring at the Awoken from her own company trembling in front of me.

And from behind her, a new figure appeared.

My personal secretary.

The driver — and slave — who'd brought me all the way from the academy on Incheon's waterfront to Seoul today!

"Y-you called for me..."

"Eunyoung. Come sit beside me."

"Yes..."

She was still desperate to get her mana back, practically climbing the walls over it.

The moment she sat down next to me, I kissed her.

Right where Shin Haneul could see.

Without so much as a blink, I held a straight gaze and plundered the inside of Hong Eunyoung's mouth.

Call this revenge... I really am something else.

"Haa... haa... I-in a place with this many people..."

"You don't want your mana back?"

"But... even so..."

I stuck my tongue out again.

And simply waited.

Hong Eunyoung leaned in once more and kissed me.

Shin Haneul, unable to take any more of it, finally screamed.