Chapter 27
Chapter 27
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: uly
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: How about Calling It a Draw?
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"No way..."
"......"
"It's just a 'punch' at best... You're telling me swinging a single fist boosted your stats like that? Then what if you used your 'legs' or something? It'd go even higher than now..."
Even...
Even higher!
What if it could go even higher than this?
"...Ha! What is this, some 21st-century Sun Wukong crossed with Hercules or something?"
Lee Jin-ah let out a hollow laugh from sheer disbelief.
She was so flabbergasted that she even name-dropped legendary 'Great Monsters' that had gone down in world history.
But her laughter didn't last long.
...Gulp.
Lee Jin-ah swallowed dryly, her uneasy gaze flicking not just straight ahead at the approaching pitch-black monster, but also sideways.
Beside her stood the blue knight in silence.
The blue mana light that had enveloped the humanoid monster's body was gradually coming under control, absorbing back into its master's form.
Then, his pale skin slowly returned to a human peach tone as he began to open his eyes... that man.
"...Ah, ahh..."
"......?!"
"Am I... awake now, after all this time?"
"Grk?!"
Lee Jin-ah—and even I—froze in place with blank expressions as the blue knight began to speak.
"Grrrk?!"
'A monster that can talk?'
"...? Why the shock? If a monster's vocal structure is similar enough to a human's, it can speak human language just fine."
Sure, I knew that in theory...
I knew it, but...
That didn't make the reaction any less natural.
And true to form as a monster, the blue knight understood my 'grk grk' perfectly.
Who the hell is this guy?
"Your awakening means you're the only monster I have left now. Sir Lancelot."
Lancelot.
Lee Jin-ah had locked eyes with the knight and clearly called him Lancelot.
Having played plenty of fantasy games and being familiar with folklore and legends, I immediately clocked who she meant.
'Could you be... Sir Lancelot of the Round Table from King Arthur's legend?'
"That's right. For a monster, you're sharper than you look."
"Grrrk."
The King Arthur legend was as famous in the West—especially Britain—as Korea's Dangun myth.
Getting praise from one of its knights made me feel a bit bashful.
I scratched the back of my head, only to realize: wait, you're a monster too?
Hold up—before that, Sir Lancelot, weren't you a Round Table knight? And a monster?
'Hunters Blood only had maps for Japan and Korea implemented right before I possessed this body...'
They'd said other countries would come as DLC later, but I never imagined it'd be through a Britain expansion pack like this.
I was marveling at the novelty when...
"Lee Jin-ah."
"Yes, sir."
"Have you found my dearest wish—my treasure more precious than the 'Holy Grail'? That's the condition of our contract, as I recall."
"Not yet... We've pinpointed the location roughly, but the problem is it's buried deep underground in the US. We're not equipped to retrieve it right now."
"I see..."
"Yes. And to top it off, we've lost yet another key asset."
Lee Jin-ah spoke to her familiar, Sir Lancelot, in a regretful tone.
Listening to them, it was hard to tell who was the master and who was the familiar.
But one thing was clear: now I had to fight both of them too.
"Grrrr..."
I couldn't wait around forever while they chatted.
If Lee Jin-ah used her authority as branch chief of the Korean Hunters Association to summon every hunter in Seoul to Gangnam, that'd be a problem.
I didn't mind monsters, but I didn't want to kill humans with my own hands.
And yet...
"Judging by the situation, it seems we can resolve this peacefully with words."
Sir Lancelot stepped between me and Lee Jin-ah, who were radiating killing intent at each other, trying to mediate?
"Sir?"
"Grk?"
I'd figured he'd help her take me down.
"Lee Jin-ah, give up on that monster pup already."
"...! Sir! That's mine!"
"I know. But aren't you in a situation where you don't actually want it anyway?"
"Th-that...!"
She fell silent, unable to refute his spot-on words.
Then he turned to me.
"You too. You seem like a monster 'friendly' to humans, like me. Am I right?"
"Grrk."
Nod.
"Understood. Then let's negotiate as fellow pro-humanity monsters. We won't pursue the pup anymore. So how about you withdraw here too?"
Sir Lancelot was clearly trying to broker peace.
Lee Jin-ah couldn't fully control her recovered reason, so she just fidgeted beside him.
Everything hinged on my response, it seemed.
So...
"Grk!"
'No way!'
"Eh?!"
I responded with firm rejection, unable to trust them.
"Grk grk. Grrk grk grk!"
'Even if I back off now, what's guaranteeing Branch Chief Lee Jin-ah will let the pup go completely? If you slip back into that quiet state like before, that woman's the type to stab us in the back without hesitation!'
"That's... hard to deny..."
"...? Sir. What did the Jamsil Monster just say?"
"Hm, I'll explain later."
Of course, my reasons weren't just that calculated.
"Grrk grk! Grk! Grk!"
'Plus, the pup itself has been through hell—nearly turned into an experiment subject right after birth, suffered all kinds of humiliations from that woman. You want to just sweep that under the rug?'
"I see... So Lee Jin-ah owes you two a debt now."
"Grrr. Grk!"
'Exactly. So at the very least, I need to give her a good flick on the forehead.'
With that, I blew on my tightly clenched fist.
I planned to hit just hard enough to hurt a lot, but not kill.
But...
"You? A flick on the forehead? Why not just say you're gonna kill her?"
Did it look that intense from the outside?
Sir Lancelot raised his sword toward me. In response, I dropped into a karate stance, tensing my legs that were starting to heat up.
The air crackled; we could clash any second.
Then—
Clang!
Sir Lancelot drove the holy sword he held—not at me, but into the ground right in front of him.
"No matter what, you're a monster who fights for humans, aren't you?!"
"?!"
"Sooner or later, like it or not, you'll have to join forces with Lee Jin-ah to fight!"
I had no retort to his words.
"As long as she's a hunter!"
As long as Lee Jin-ah held that profession.
"Whatever her goals, she's on humanity's side."
Per the original plot, she could be a reliable ally fighting alongside me.
"Think about it—this troublesome woman becoming your comrade. Wouldn't that be solid?"
A hunter who could command two National Disaster-class monsters. Purely on ability, she was prime talent.
But no matter what, this woman was rotten to the core...
"We'll compensate you for the pup later!"
"Grrrr...."
"Think it over. Throwing away a card you could use against her multiple times later, all for momentary anger. Is that really all the vessel you're made of?"
His tense eyes met mine.
"If you need anything later, come find Lee Jin-ah. Hell, use her like a subordinate if you want."
Unlike Lee Jin-ah's gaze, his held no trace of deceit.
"I swear it on my 'knightly honor.'"
Knighthood from the knight himself.
He valued it more than his life, and pledging it finally earned my trust.
But I needed even firmer 'assurance.'
"Grrk."
'Sir, then let me say one last thing before I withdraw.'
"Very well."
I glared at the two before me with near-murderous intensity.
And I wasn't some grand hero out to save the world.
I was just an ordinary guy fighting to protect the 'people dear to me' who truly trusted and loved me.
"Touch what's 'mine' even once more, and there won't be words next time."
I spoke like it was my final warning.
"...! Duly noted!"
Sir Lancelot pulled his sword from the ground and replied gratefully.
After that, nothing more.
We turned our backs simultaneously and walked our separate paths, as if it was all over.
Meanwhile.
"Sir Lancelot. Are we really just leaving like this?"
Lee Jin-ah still looked somewhat dissatisfied.
She'd lost a key asset after eight years of research on her prized project.
And now, she'd essentially become the monsters' lackey.
Her face screamed she hated ending in the red.
But his next words...
"Lee Jin-ah."
"Yes, sir."
"Do you want me to die again?"
"...Pardon?"
Sir Lancelot turned to her as he sheathed the holy sword Saber and his memento rapier at his hips.
He who had sat right beside the king in the world's most famed knightly order, the Knights of the Round Table.
"Never make an enemy of that one!"
Seeing cold sweat trickle down his temple, Lee Jin-ah finally clamped her mouth shut.
"Befriend him if you can. Pour every ounce of your power and wealth into it!"
A life once lost and regained.
She'd thought nothing could surprise her anymore.
But that unknown strength, impossible to predict even a step ahead—like his quest for the Holy Grail in life—faded into the distance.
"Give him whatever he wants! Anything!!"
"A-anything?"
"Yes! Money? Money! Power? Power! Women? Women! Pile them up like mountains so he never gets bored!"
At this point, Sir Lancelot flicked Lee Jin-ah on the forehead in place of Shin-woo, as if telling her to cut the crap.