A Difference in Methods
Shhh!
If not for the Vampire's Shadow Armor, I would have been helpless against the poison needle.
"...How did you know?"
Sakura, who had been wearing a cute smile just moments ago, was now glaring at me with a face as fierce as a yakuza's.
Haha.
As expected, my phony-radar never lies.
"No, it doesn't matter."
She muttered to herself, then pulled something from her bosom.
It was a sharp shuriken.
Guess she wasn't just a healer, huh?
"I'll kill you...!"
Why do villains always shout the exact same line? It's almost embarrassing to listen to.
Whoosh!
Sakura leaped with blinding speed.
She bounced off the ceiling and hurled the shuriken straight at my neck.
Zzzzt!
The shuriken tore through nothing but my afterimage.
Echo Walker: Blink
I didn't expect to use it in real combat so soon.
"...?!"
Startled, Sakura looked around.
But it was already too late.
"You have no intention of going quietly, do you?"
I asked as politely as I could, but—
Whoosh!
Another shuriken was the only reply.
"Okay, then."
There was only one answer to that.
Pluck!
I pulled the shuriken out of the wall.
"Isn't it illegal for a healer to use stuff like this?"
And then—
Swish!
The shuriken missed.
Or rather, Sakura dodged it with artistic grace.
"Fool!"
The corners of her mouth curled up as she prepared to throw another shuriken.
"Di—!"
Thud!
She couldn't finish her sentence before collapsing to the floor.
Her limbs were rapidly stiffening.
"Die."
"..."
"That's what you wanted to say, right?"
I looked down at the fallen Sakura and asked.
However, she was no longer in a state to answer.
To be precise, the basilisk's poison needle was embedded right between her eyebrows.
The traces of the spreading deadly poison left behind blackened, stained veins.
"Ugh..."
Sakura could barely move her eyes to look up at me.
"Any last words?"
"..."
Once again, she couldn't answer.
The basilisk's deadly poison had likely already reached her heart.
Let's kill her.
I drew my crescent sword without hesitation.
Kill her!
But the moment I brought the cold blade to Sakura's throat—
"...That is enough."
Someone grabbed my wrist.
"I will handle it from here."
It was Choi Muryeong.
"..."
How long had he been here?
Had I failed to sense his presence because I was focused on Sakura?
Sheathe.
I withdrew the crescent sword.
Drip.
Perhaps a cut had formed from the pressure of the blade; blood trickled down Sakura's neck.
"Looking at me like that makes it seem like I did something wrong."
I threw out a light joke, but—
"..."
Only a heavy silence returned.
I could feel it through my skin.
The fact that Choi Muryeong was tense.
For the world's number three, he sure gets scared easily.
I showed him my empty hands and took a couple of steps back.
Only then did Choi Muryeong lift the stiffened Sakura like a piece of luggage.
"Your neutralization of the target was excellent."
"..."
"However, your response afterward was the problem."
Ah.
Trying to kill her?
"But she started it—"
"The appropriate response in this situation..."
"..."
"...is to report to the higher-ups after neutralizing the threat."
"..."
"Not to end her life."
Well.
Logically, he was right.
When I scratched the back of my head without offering much of a rebuttal, Choi Muryeong let out a soft sigh.
"The opponent is a human."
True.
"A human, not a monster of the tower."
He was entirely correct.
"I'll be careful next time."
I readily admitted it and nodded.
At that, Choi Muryeong seemed slightly relieved.
Choi Muryeong seemed lost in thought for a moment, then spoke.
"Do not worry."
"About what?"
"The report."
The report... I see.
"I will report that I was the one who dealt with this ambush."
I hadn't really been worried.
After all, I hadn't killed her.
Still, I should probably thank him.
Thanks to him, I wouldn't get tangled up in anything complicated.
"Thanks."
"...Don't mention it."
After staring at me for a moment, Choi Muryeong bowed his head slightly and left.
"Hmm."
I stared at the spot where the shuriken had been embedded before leaving Sakura's room.
By the way...
How did Choi Muryeong know to come here?
"..."
After detaining Sakura and returning to his quarters, Choi Muryeong remained lost in thought for a long time.
It wasn't strange that Sakura had targeted Lee Taepyeong. He had expected it to some extent.
However, he had assumed it would be an attempt to win him over, not a plan to eliminate him entirely.
Still, because he had been on high alert from the beginning, he had been able to prevent Sakura's plan.
No, could he really say he had prevented it?
Rather, Lee Taepyeong had handled Sakura himself.
In a way far more primal than the Bureau's methods.
Even if Sakura was a healer, considering the level difference between the two, it should have been impossible for Lee Taepyeong to subdue her.
Moreover, Sakura had even prepared a basilisk's poison needle.
Despite that, before they could even exchange three blows, Lee Taepyeong had driven the poison needle into her.
Naturally, as if he had practiced for this exact moment his entire life.
And furthermore...
The sight that followed was truly unbelievable.
In reality, no matter how highly trained someone was, they were bound to hesitate when it came to murder.
Especially in the case of close-quarters killing rather than using firearms.
But Lee Taepyeong was different.
After paralyzing Sakura's limbs with the basilisk's poison needle, he had moved to 'murder' his opponent with absolute naturalness.
Even for a hunter, even if they had killed countless monsters and other races since becoming one, it was shocking. How could someone who was a mere civilian just a few months ago have no hesitation in killing another 'human'?
If Choi Muryeong hadn't shown himself, Lee Taepyeong would have pierced Sakura's throat without a second thought.
Yet, on the other hand...
Lee Taepyeong was also someone who knew how to sacrifice for his teammates.
He had readily handed over an Elixir to Cha Yerin.
He had given Yoo Inseok numerous items to use for his wedding fund, and had even reserved a left-arm item for Kang Dagyeong.
Recently, he had personally taken in Woo Jumin, whom he had saved from rental fraud.
These were the reasons Choi Muryeong held Lee Taepyeong in high regard.
The Babel Tower was a place where, perhaps not on the lower floors, but the higher one climbed...
One had to think of their 'comrades'.
That was why parties were essential on the higher floors.
That was why so many fell as they climbed higher.
And that was the very reason many people gave up on the upper floors.
Clack.
Choi Muryeong closed the laptop he had been using to write his report.
Would Lee Taepyeong turn out to be a blessing for South Korea?
Or...
Would he become another disaster?
Choi Muryeong decided to watch and see.
"I heard Sakura was detained?"
The moment I entered the meeting room after finishing breakfast, Ban Haeyeong's flustered voice rang out.
"Then won't we be short on healers?" Han Sion asked calmly.
"The Chinese side has agreed to supply a replacement healer," Choi Muryeong replied bluntly.
"Good morning."
I greeted the three of them lightly, sat down, and began flipping through the report on the special floor.
The special floor of the Babel Tower that had appeared in China this time allowed for a total of three entries.
If it wasn't cleared within those three attempts, they would face the penalty of the surrounding area undergoing a Demonic Outbreak.
The first and second test entries had already been completed.
During the second entry, China had formed a dream team to challenge it, but they had apparently failed.
That was why, ahead of the final third entry, they had requested help from South Korea and Japan.
But now that Sakura was out due to a certain incident, the question was who would fill the remaining slot.
Will a healer brought in at the last minute really be of any help?
Personally, I didn't care who the healer was.
But in Ban Haeyeong's case, since she was a tank, the absence of a reliable healer seemed to weigh heavily on her mind.
Either way, a new healer was coming.
The joint training proceeded as scheduled.
A massive group of ten people.
Would we really be able to coordinate properly?
There's probably going to be a leadership issue too...
Choi Muryeong, ranked 3rd in the world, and Jang Wonryong, ranked 8th.
I had heard there was a clash of egos between them—or rather, a one-sided ego trip on Jang Wonryong's part.
Well, that's not my problem either.
Even if there was an issue, it was up to Choi Muryeong to solve it.
With a fairly light heart, I headed to the training grounds.
And then.
"Before we begin the actual training, how about we have a light spar?"
Mocking my attempt to draw the line at "not my problem," something that was my problem ended up happening.
The one who proposed the sparring match was none other than Jang Wonryong.
On the surface, it was to foster camaraderie, but his true intention was obvious.
He wants to break our spirits.
Checking each other's skills and coordinating was all just an excuse.
What he really wanted was to say: Read the room and fall in line.
Wow.
Is this how the world's number eight vents his frustrations? How pathetic. Truly pathetic.
"What could be better than exchanging guidance on such a fine occasion?"
He certainly talked a big game.
He was less of a dragon and more of a snake.
The format of the spar was simple.
Four Korean hunters.
Four Chinese hunters, excluding the healer.
Basically, it was a series of one-on-one matches.
The winner would move on to face the next opponent.
Sigh. Can't Choi Muryeong and Jang Wonryong just duke it out and get it over with?!
...I had to swallow those words.
After all, this was supposed to be a friendly gathering.
There was no justification to refuse. None at all.
And on the other hand, my body was quite stiff from yesterday's events.
Maybe I'll just play along half-heartedly.
Since we decided to go from the lowest rank up, I was naturally first.
I was a rookie hunter without even a rank to my name, after all.
The Chinese hunter was Wang Ruoxin.
I heard he had a trait called Taishan Power, but I didn't know the details.
Well, we only met today...
If he's a tank, it's obvious. He's just a meat shield.
I dusted off my hands and stepped toward the training hall.
Or rather, I tried to.
"Hunter Lee Taepyeong."
Choi Muryeong stopped me.
"You do not have to do this."
At first glance, it sounded like he was looking out for me.
But I immediately caught the hidden meaning.
If you're going to cause trouble, back out.
Was he saying this because of what happened yesterday?
What does he take me for...?
I brushed Choi Muryeong's hand away.
"It's fine."
"..."
"We have to foster camaraderie, after all."
As I stepped into the training ground—
Hummm!
A protective barrier expanded.
Wang Ruoxin stood on the opposite side, already wearing a smug grin.
"I'll finish this in one blow."
I looked straight into Wang Ruoxin's eyes and smirked.
"Me too."