129. Counterattack (1)
129. Counterattack (1)
'Incredible.'
Sofia held her breath and captured the battle unfolding before her on camera.
Sweat seeped from her hands as she gripped the camera tight.
'......This is the real skill of Utopia's party leader, Jin Yu-ha.'
Of course, she had believed he would win.
But that belief belonged to Sofia's personal, one-sided faith and fangirl heart.
Even if that belief had grown a little stronger through the training they'd done together, the real battle she was witnessing was on an entirely different level from what she'd fantasized about.
After all, the general public was separated from Velvet Academy, and the only thing people who couldn't enter dungeons could trust was the word of the hunters who cleared them firsthand.
The number of hunters who'd manipulated their achievements and skill, only to have their incompetence exposed and plummet into disgrace, was truly beyond counting.
And Jin Yu-ha was among those who had faced such suspicion.
How much slander and suspicion had been directed at him!
The party leader of Utopia, who led Cheonhwa and Fighting Dog.
Shin Se-hee had stated with her own mouth that he was stronger than her, that he'd beaten Kang Do-hee in a spar,
but the public didn't take those words at face value.
Because by common sense, it simply didn't make sense.
That a male body has clear physical limits.
That if he were such an outstanding hunter, he should have been the talk of the town even before entering the academy, just like Cheonhwa or Fighting Dog.
That all of Utopia's accomplishments were just carried by the skills of the other party members.
That Jin Yu-ha was nothing more than a pretty face driving Utopia's popularity—
Such words dragged him down, from people who hadn't even seen it for themselves.
And because Jin Yu-ha had kept silent without a single word in response, the controversy had only accelerated.
But everyone was wrong.
'As I thought—Jin Yu-ha is the real deal!'
Tears welled up in Sofia's eyes as she took in the sight of Jin Yu-ha's back.
A huge gash was carved across his shoulder, blood streaming down.
Countless small wounds across his whole body gaped bright red.
A state that was clearly far from normal at a glance.
Could anyone see this and still say that sort of thing about Jin Yu-ha?
As if.
'This needs to be shown to the world. This is what a real hunter is.'
Those who throw their lives away like dust and protect the public's safety from the very front lines.
After protecting countless people like that, instead of any thanks,
"Why couldn't you protect my family?" "Why did you leave people to their fate?" "Why do you always only show up to clean up after the incident is over?" "What about my property that was damaged in the fighting?"
They spout such things day after day, yet the very same public comes looking for hunters the moment a crisis hits.
In a situation where honestly, no one would be surprised if they grew disillusioned, there were those who endlessly proved themselves for them anyway.
In this real fight she was witnessing for the first time, there was no romance whatsoever, none of the hunter fantasies she'd always dreamed of.
Only a relentless struggle, dragging on and on.
But if anything, that very desperation sent an enormous ripple through Sofia's heart.
"I want to become like that too......"
To be honest, until today, Sofia's wish to become a hunter had been nothing but a light whim.
But now, in this moment, she had come to admire those people called hunters.
Sniff—
Sofia gazed at him through wet eyes, then abruptly turned her head at a sound beside her.
Reina, who so resembled the chairwoman, had stopped mid-bite on her popcorn and was sniffing back tears.
And then,
Plink—
A teardrop from her violet eyes fell straight into the popcorn bucket.
"......Reina?"
"Huh, hmm?"
"Are you crying?"
"C-crying? Who? M-me......?"
"Yes."
She brought her hand to her eyes with a flustered face.
Then she wore an expression of utter shock.
"Wh-what is this! Why are tears coming out!"
"......How would I know? Could it be that you're a fan of Jin Yu-ha too, Reina?"
"N-no, that's not it! I-it's just, somehow this time...... no one died, and I'm glad......?"
Reina blurted out words no one had asked for, stammering as if she'd malfunctioned, then tilted her head.
"What am I even saying? No, I just—for some reason I felt a l-little relieved!"
With the look of someone who'd spotted a kindred spirit, Sofia held out a piece of cloth to her.
"You're in the fandom-denial phase. I understand."
"......Fandom-denial phase? Wh-whatever that is, no! I told you, that's not what this is!"
"Let's have an in-depth talk about that later. And Reina, please take care of this too."
Sofia handed the camera over to her.
"Hmm?"
"It seems the moment Jin Yu-ha spoke of is right now."
"Now?"
Reina asked, but Sofia didn't look back and calmly got to her feet.
Honestly, how many times had her hand almost moved on its own earlier?
But she had trusted only his command to wait until that moment came, and she had held herself back, again and again.
She felt a sudden surge of sinister energy explode outward and blanket the fallen woman.
Sofia's intuition told her that now was the very moment Jin Yu-ha had spoken of.
And she raised her bow.
* * *
With Shin Se-hee's declaration of withdrawing from the Midterm Evaluation, the cadets halted their fighting.
Indeed, her Coins had been reset to '0 Coins'.
She was dead last among all cadets.
Since Shin Se-hee, whose name always appeared near the top, had made such a choice, there was no one who would look at this and think she was up to some other trick.
"Everyone, please straighten up your attire."
Shin Se-hee spoke.
"Hmm? Now that you mention it, does that mean we don't need to be dressed like this anymore?"
"I suppose so......? They're saying we're not fighting each other anymore......"
Only then did the cadets in Lee Yu-ri's camp feel shame at their own appearance.
The true purpose of this test wasn't fighting each other but defeating an external enemy, so there was no longer any need to differentiate between cadets through their clothing.
The cadets untied the strips of cloth they'd fastened around their waists, helping one another tidy themselves into a presentable state.
"Wait, but don't you still get Coins for attacking cadets? What if someone targets that and backstabs us while we're fighting real enemies?"
"Uh......? Good point?"
Amidst all this, one cadet muttered something under her breath.
But as if she'd heard that small voice right beside her, Shin Se-hee spoke.
"If, from this moment on, anyone attacks another cadet, I, Kang Do-hee, and Cadet Lee Yu-ri will personally finish that person first. We're already in a situation where we'll be scolded for missing the true meaning of the test, and anyone stirring up trouble on top of that...... will find my insufficient Coin count topped up at their expense."
The original troublemaker, Shin Se-hee, said this with a chilly smile on her lips.
"Eek!"
"......L-let's just, uh, fight fair and square."
"Yeah! From the very beginning, I just wanted everyone to join forces and fight the real enemy together!"
At that, the cadets who had been entertaining other ideas inwardly nodded, their faces drained white.
Haaah—
"They managed to rein it in somehow."
Shin Se-hee let out a small sigh.
"......The real purpose of the test is to gather our strength and eliminate an external enemy. So, who are these bastards?"
Lee Yu-ri, who'd been watching the situation unfold blankly from the side, asked.
"Ah, I should tell you two at least."
Shin Se-hee said, as if she'd just remembered.
"Huh?"
"Hm?"
"What I said about the test's true meaning being to join forces and capture an external enemy—that was actually a lie."
Shin Se-hee grinned brightly.
"Wh-what!?"
"What did you say?"
At her completely unexpected words, Lee Yu-ri was so dumbfounded she raised her voice, then, conscious of their surroundings, clamped a hand over her mouth.
Kang Do-hee also furrowed her brow as if to say, what kind of trick is this now?
At that reaction, Shin Se-hee raised the corners of her mouth as if pleased, and continued.
"But the 'Demonized Humans' are coming, you know?"
"......Demonized Humans?"
"Why would they......?"
"And if a Demonized Human kills you, you really die."
You really die.
At those words, Lee Yu-ri's and Kang Do-hee's expressions instantly turned grave.
"Ha. That Yellow Dog bastard."
"Ha. Jin Yu-ha."
After a brief silence, they both let out a sigh at the same time, calling Jin Yu-ha's name as if he were a headache.
"So, Flowerbed, what you're saying is: Demonized Humans have appeared here, and if they kill you, you really die. Is that it?"
"Yep. That's right."
"And the instructors above or the chairwoman can't come because something has come up?"
"Yep. That's correct."
By this point, they had no choice but to understand the situation.
That this entire stage was a board set up by Jin Yu-ha.
"One more thing: the mission Jin Yu-ha assigned to me and to the two of you was, 'Until I arrive, ensure that not a single person here dies.'"
Ha.
Kang Do-hee let out a laugh, as if it were utterly absurd.
"Seriously. He always shows up dragging the unexpected with him. That Yellow Dog bastard."
"Tell me about it......"
In truth, even though the words were sudden and outrageous, Kang Do-hee and Lee Yu-ri accepted them without a shred of doubt.
"Anyway. We've received our orders. So I suppose we must carry them out, mustn't we? Hmm, knowing Jin Yu-ha, I expect he's predicted the timing as well......"
Abruptly, a little-devil smile spread across Shin Se-hee's lips.
"Lee Yu-ri, would you mind moving over that way and using a skill on the whole of that forest?"
"......Me? I j-just used a skill at max output......"
"To make sure not a single person dies, shouldn't we drag their existence out into the open?"
"Uh, hmm."
"This is also a request from Jin Yu-ha, you see. Unless you're so exhausted you can't manage it......?"
In truth, Jin Yu-ha had never given such specific orders,
but Shin Se-hee said it while trading on his name.
That was Shin Se-hee for you—never missing a chance to seize the upper hand over Lee Yu-ri.
At that, Lee Yu-ri went "Hrmm—" and mulled it over, then scratched roughly at her head.
"......Fine."
Lee Yu-ri let out a low sigh and trudged toward the forest.
Then, with her back to the cadets who were watching to see what was going on, she raised her shield toward the forest.
CLAAAAAANG—!
"......."
A brief silence followed.
And then, one after another.
One after another.
"What the—what's going on all of a sudden!"
"It's a skill!"
"This bitch—she's using some weird skill!"
"Why is my b-body moving on its own!?"
A dozen or so women in shabby, tattered clothes emerged from the undergrowth.
The cadets behind Lee Yu-ri stared at them with bewildered faces.
"Those are the external enemies?"
"Ugh, look at their clothes. What is that, are they primitives?"
"Their skin's all grimy and filthy too."
As if they'd already completely forgotten their own appearance just moments ago, the cadets tossed out one remark after another.
"......You and I are going to have words later."
"You were definitely dressed just like us when I saw you earlier, weren't you!?"
As they appeared, Lee Yu-ri stepped forward with a hardened expression.
"So it's you. The external enemies we need to eliminate."
Lee Yu-ri boldly raised her shield to the front.
"All units."
"Attack!!!!!"
At Lee Yu-ri's shout, attacks flew at them from every direction.