Chapter 23
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 23
Chapter Title: Moderately
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Squelch—!
With a spine-chilling sound, the man's body collapsed limply.
Through the gap in the torn car door, Yuna's staggering figure came into view. Crimson blood was spurting from her shoulder like a fountain.
"Huff… Hah…"
Her ragged breathing seemed to echo right beside me. The dark red bloodstains soaking the asphalt spread at a terrifying speed.
It wasn't over yet. The remaining three shadows were slowly but steadily closing in on the faltering Yuna.
"……"
A chill ran through my entire body, as if all my blood had turned to ice. If this continued, Yuna would die. And then it would be my turn.
In front of me were the potions I'd pulled out as a precaution. There was only one I needed right now.
My hesitation was brief. I grabbed the red vial and burst out of the crumpled car door like I was kicking it open.
"H-Here, drink this! Quick!"
At my shout, Yuna's hazy eyes snapped back into focus for a moment. She instinctively deflected the sword of the man charging toward her and roughly shoved me behind her. At the same time, she snatched the potion vial from my hand.
Without the slightest hesitation, she bit out the cork stopper with her teeth and downed it in one gulp.
Gulp. The thick liquid sliding down her throat sounded vivid right behind me.
"Ha."
The shredded muscles and skin on Yuna's shoulder began recombining at a frightening speed, as if time itself were reversing.
The bleeding stopped, the wound closed, and finally, not even a scar remained.
It had taken less than 10 seconds.
"The performance is insane, as expected."
Yuna murmured softly as she rolled her perfectly restored shoulder a few times. She clenched and unclenched her fist, confirming the vitality surging back through her body.
"……!"
"What the fuck is that…."
The men froze in shock at the surreal sight before them, unable to move.
I didn't miss the opening. I held out another glass vial to her—the remnants of the regeneration interference curse sample I'd splashed on one of them earlier.
"P-Put it on your sword…! E-Even a graze… curses them…!"
Before I could finish, Yuna carefully poured the ominous gray liquid onto her blade.
Gray magical energy flowed along the sword, exuding an eerie aura.
"Now it's getting interesting."
Her low mutter carried a chilling anger unlike before.
"Stay put. It'll be over soon."
"Don't fuck around! Take out the kid in the back first!"
At the lead man's urgent shout, one of them immediately turned toward me and charged.
But before he could reach me, Yuna moved first.
"Where do you think…!"
She kicked off the ground and shot forward like a shadow. This wasn't the desperate defense from before. She dodged his blade by a paper-thin margin and countered with a shallow but long gash on his forearm.
Slash!
Her movement didn't stop. Before the other two could react, she had already slipped inside their guard. Every time they tried to take even a step toward me, Yuna's sword ghostly blocked their path.
"Tch, this little scratch…!"
The one with the slashed arm sneered incredulously and regripped his sword. But Yuna ignored him and lunged at another man. Instead of a deep cut, she left only a thin line on his thigh.
Rather than aiming for fatal wounds, Yuna repeatedly grazed and withdrew.
And the effect began to show gradually.
"Fuck! The blood won't stop!"
The first one with the arm wound spat out a curse. Blood kept pouring from the small gash on his forearm when it should have clotted.
A hunter's physique should heal minor injuries in no time. But the man's wound showed no sign of closing.
Only then did the others hurriedly check their own wounds. Blood flowed relentlessly from the shallow cuts on thighs and sides.
"H-How is this…!"
The bewilderment on their faces turned to terror. Their movements visibly slowed and grew frantic.
Slowly, their formation began to crumble.
Yuna didn't miss it. She dove into the gaps, twisting wrists to disarm swords and kicking knees to shatter balance.
As the last man hesitated in horror at his comrades' fates, Yuna's sword snapped his blade and left a shallow cut on his chest.
"Gah…!"
"Ugh…."
The fight ended in an instant. The three who had cornered Yuna moments ago now writhed on the ground, groaning in agony.
"Hoo…."
Yuna lowered her sword with heavy breaths. She turned to me first. Only when I saw relief flicker in her eyes could I finally exhale the breath I'd been holding.
As the tension released, my legs gave out, and I collapsed right there.
"Uwaaa…."
It's finally over. With relief came the gruesome scene around me.
The acrid stench of blood and burning tires. The mangled car wreckage beyond recognition and the men sprawled on the ground, moaning.
It was a total mess. I had no idea how to clean this up.
"…S-So, what do we do now…?"
When I asked in a trembling voice, Yuna reassured me.
"Don't worry about that."
Then she added toward the empty darkness.
"Come out."
With that, space warped slightly, and an old man slowly revealed himself.
"Our young lady. You really went wild, didn't you."
I didn't recognize him at first. But as my dark-adjusted eyes focused, a familiar face emerged.
"…Huh?"
It was the security guard grandpa who always sat quietly reading in the booth next to the workshop.
"Y-You're supposed to be a retired mage…."
"Heh heh. Retirement doesn't exist for hunters."
Yuna snapped curtly at the old man approaching amicably.
"…You're late, old man."
Her attitude suggested she'd known he was coming from the start.
"Heh heh, late? I just arrived."
Yuna grumbled at the old man's shameless reply.
"…You were just watching the show."
As soon as she finished, Yuna irritably swung her sword through empty air.
Kiiing—!
A clear bursting sound rang out from nowhere. The space at her sword tip trembled like ripples on still water before vanishing.
'…Since when?'
A scene flashed in my mind. Right after the crash, Yuna's smartphone tossed on the driver's floor.
Now I understood what that meant.
"If you were here, why didn't you help?"
The old man ignored the question, glanced at the fallen men, and changed the subject.
"Three B-ranks and two C-ranks… You've grown again."
Yuna stared at him incredulously at the nonchalant praise, then shook her head with a sigh. Arguing was pointless.
"…It's not my growth. This kid's potion is just broken."
Yuna casually pointed at me with her chin.
The old man's gaze shifted to me, slumped on the ground.
"Impressive indeed. Our alchemist. You hate going out so much, yet the moment you do, you run into this mess. No injuries, I hope?"
"Y-Yeah… I'm… f-fine…."
I could barely nod, unable to keep up with the situation.
Meanwhile, the old man approached one of the groaning men.
He silently placed a hand on the man's forehead. Faint blue magic seeped from his fingertips into the man's head. The man's body twitched convulsively.
"Tch… So foolish."
As if that sufficed, he turned to us.
"You two head back to the workshop. It's the safest place now. I'll handle the rest."
With a wave of his hand, an unbelievable sight unfolded.
The fallen men, the massive dump truck blocking the road, even the car wreckage and bloodstains on the asphalt—all vanished into black shadows without a trace.
Leaving a kindly smile, he melted into the darkness as well.
I could only gape, staring blankly at it all.
"Damn it, why no contact yet?"
Im Cheol-woo paced anxiously in the safehouse filled with luxury furniture.
"How long does it take to deal with one B-rank hunter?!"
The humiliation from the public verification replayed, making him seethe. He planned to eliminate Choi Yuna in this ambush and bury all potion controversies forever.
But.
"……!"
A chill crawled up his spine. The room's air grew heavy as lead in an instant.
"W-Who is it!"
Im Cheol-woo shouted and spun around. From a dark corner, an old man slowly emerged.
An unfamiliar face. But the overwhelming presence made Im Cheol-woo feel primal fear.
"How did you get in…!"
He immediately drew up mana. As it condensed into a shield—
"Trash needs to be cleaned up."
The old man mockingly extended a hand toward him.
Crack!
With one gesture, Im Cheol-woo's forming barrier shattered like glass.
"Wh-What…!"
Then, an invisible grip of mana crushed his heart.
"Gahk…."
Thud.
A-rank healer Im Cheol-woo.
He collapsed with wide eyes, never knowing who killed him or why.
As his corpse vanished into shadows, perfect silence returned, as if nothing happened.
The old man appeared spotless, without a drop of blood, in the Healers' Union Chairman's office.
The chairman sat at a fine wooden desk, signing documents. At the sudden intruder, he merely looked up slowly, unperturbed.
But upon recognizing the old man's face, his fountain pen paused mid-air.
"…Yoon Hyun of White Night… Why are you here."
His voice trembled faintly. Yoon Hyun coldly stated his business instead.
"Im Cheol-woo has been dealt with."
"……."
The chairman closed and opened his eyes, then spoke in a mix of resignation and wariness.
"Im Cheol-woo acted on his own. Not the Union's will. Be satisfied with that one life."
A clear scapegoating.
In that moment, killing intent rose from Yoon Hyun. As he sneered and released mana, he sensed something and halted.
Soundlessly, shadows rose around the office, encircling Yoon Hyun.
"……."
The elite hunters' suffocating presence filled the room.
"White Tiger, is it."
The chairman sipped his tea calmly. His voice regained composure.
"Escalating further… won't benefit you or the child you protect."
A warning to back off—and a threat balancing faction powers.
"Hah."
Yoon Hyun merely chuckled softly.