Chapter 44
Chapter 44
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Translator: True Detective
Chapter: 1
Chapter Title: Seeing Red
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Seolgi was locked in a brutal fight, and surprisingly, the arena where it was taking place was easy to find.
It seemed this "succession blood battle" was a pretty big deal even within the Supreme Lee Clan, as almost everyone in the estate had gathered in one spot.
"Is that the arena?"
In the midst of the entire clan watching, two figures clashed on the marble field.
At first, I didn't recognize her, but upon closer inspection, one of them was Seolgi in hanbok.
So she dresses like that at home...
Come to think of it, that's what she wore when we first met at kindergarten, right?
I remembered asking if it was uncomfortable, and the very next day, she showed up in normal clothes.
Anyway.
Clothes make the woman, as they say.
In that ornate and beautiful hanbok reminiscent of a Joseon-era lady, Seolgi somehow looked different today.
No...
Thwack.
Crack.
Krunch.
"...Huh?"
This wasn't a metaphor—Seolgi was really off her game today.
"Why is that girl just taking hits...?"
I'd seen Seolgi's combat sense plenty of times, from elementary through high school, without ever getting tired of it.
So I could tell right away.
The flashy moves she always showed off on the hunter-exclusive sandbags at school...
None of those techniques were coming out in this so-called succession blood battle.
As if she couldn't use them, or didn't want to.
Even under the fierce onslaught from the orange princess, Seolgi just stood there taking hits, frustrating me to no end.
Powerlessly.
Thwack thwack thwack.
Looking frail.
Thwack thwack thwack thwack thwack.
Bleeding from wounds in a way unbecoming of a vampire hunter.
Krunch!
"!?"
And then, finally, the moment I'd been dreading while swallowing hard arrived.
"Seolgi...?"
A spear-like arrowhead of blood pierced right through Seolgi's solar plexus.
Blood spewed from her mouth as the red-eyed princess collapsed onto the bloodstained floor with a wet thud.
"...?"
What?
Did I see that wrong?
I rubbed my eyes, denying reality.
But could anyone really missee a scene like that?
I was watching from the roof of a tiled house about a kilometer from the arena.
With my hunter-enhanced vision, I instinctively leaped to my feet the moment it happened.
And the fight was already over.
"Hahahahaha!"
...Or so I thought, until Seolgi's cousin laughed like that.
As the orange princess strode toward Seolgi's limp body, raising her foot as if to trample her...
"Hey, you fucking bitch."
BOOM!
I turned into a human cannonball and launched straight into the center of the arena.
The arena where the succession blood battle was raging was nothing short of mind-blowing.
"Who the hell is that guy...?"
"More importantly, that getup... No way it's a guy, right?"
"Nonsense! It's just a woman who looks like a man."
The members of the Supreme Lee Clan, both direct and collateral lines, who had been watching the battle intently, were now buzzing with whispers over the mysterious handsome stranger who had saved Princess Lee Seolgi from Princess Lee Hanul.
And since this traditional hunter clan was inherently conservative...
"Ah, it seems Princess Lee Hanul must have let her guard down for a moment..."
"Ho, hohoho! Yes, exactly! Otherwise, how could some random guy block a princess's attack?"
"Ugh! To think a man dared show his face in this sacred succession blood battle!"
No way a princess would be stopped by some commoner.
No, women don't get blocked by men, period—that's what they thought, and soon they were pointing fingers at Yongchan in outrage for ruining the battle.
"Isn't there anyone here? Drag that man out now!"
"Tsk tsk... The world's gone to hell. Men sticking their noses into women's business now."
"They say if the males cry, the house falls. I'm scared the whole country might collapse at this rate."
"Heh heh heh. Indeed."
Meanwhile.
"Who?"
"......"
Kim Yongchan paid no mind to the insults flying from all sides.
He had stepped back from the so-called Princess Lee Hanul and was quietly kneeling to check on Seolgi.
"You okay? Can you move?"
"Y-Yongchan...? Why... are you... here...?"
"Yeah, you should've picked up your phone. Bet you've got like fifty missed calls from me right now."
Yongchan flashed a bright smile at his childhood friend's blood-soaked face looking up at him with pitiful eyes.
Like a doctor forcing a reassuring grin to calm a kid before a shot.
"Ah, it's... not too late yet..."
"...Too late for what?"
"If you... get out of the arena now... and go to Mom... you won't get in too much trouble..."
However.
His childhood friend, flesh torn so deep the bone showed, vomiting blood with every word, yet thinking of him first.
"A commoner like you... shouldn't build up... this kind of 'grudge' with a hunter clan...!"
"......"
She always joked about wanting him as her living dildo, but never seriously asked him to date her.
Because she knew a mere commoner with no great bloodline, let alone tangling with an Eastern hunter clan that was staunchly matriarchal, would come to a bad end.
"Run... please run, Yongchan..."
"......"
Normal people beg for their lives when death's at the door, status be damned, driven by survival instinct.
Or was this the noblesse oblige her two older sisters had shown earlier?
No, this was heartfelt advice from his one and only childhood friend, Lee Seolgi, willing to trade her life for his.
Just pretend you didn't see this.
Just close your eyes tight and leave the arena.
Then her mom or big sister watching this could help.
According to Supreme Lee Clan rules, anyone disrupting a succession blood battle faced execution, regardless of status.
But this was the 21st century, far from such barbarism, and more importantly, Yongchan was on good terms with the direct line.
So please.
If he just backed off quietly, thinking of it as stepping in dog shit...
"Move aside already!"
"Tsk tsk... Even in these modern times, a man dares to...?"
"He's pretty cute, though. Might be tasty later when we catch him."
"Heh heh, my thoughts exactly."
"...Sigh."
"Huh?"
"What was that?"
"Was that... a sigh just now?"
...How nice that would be.
No answer came to Seolgi's pleading request.
Just a warm hand resting gently on her head.
Soldiers in Joseon-era military uniforms soon swarmed the arena, surrounding it.
But.
"You've been going on about 'man this, man that' for a while now."
"Uh?"
"W-What?!"
"Thinking my taxes go to your pensions makes me sick."
Surrounded on all sides, Yongchan's response was pure provocation laced with anger at these boomer fossils.
"Everyone here looks younger than Seolgi's mom, don't they?"
"T-That insolent...!"
"We were just watching 'cause he's easy on the eyes!"
"And yet, for a Supreme Lee Clan with such superior blood, you're all untrained and look your age. Hope it embarrasses you."
Waking as a hunter didn't automatically mean extended lifespan or superhuman strength.
You didn't transcend humanity just like that.
Only a rare few who trained rigorously enjoyed those privileges.
Like a rusty gun that wouldn't fire, most collateral women had awakened as hunters on bloodline alone but were just wrinkled old bags who looked a bit younger than normals.
"Y-You scum! Shut your mouth this instant!"
"There are even rank-one officials from Joseon terms—congresswomen here, how dare you!"
Joseon era... well, Empire of Korea era, but anyway, the collateral women fumed, invoking the Joseon era.
Soon, some turned to their clan's princess standing atop the arena.
"Princess Lee Hanul."
"Y-Yes! Elders."
"Remove that insolent man at once."
They commanded the genius who had nearly won this succession blood battle—a collateral line prodigy claiming the heir seat after 200 years.
"Surely you're not saying we should spill civilian blood now?!"
Lee Gok, unable to just watch, finally stood and was about to issue a 'blood command' toward the collateral seats.
"It's 'clan rules', Princess."
"...!"
Among the hanbok-clad collaterals stood a rare few in suits, badges marking them as Republic of Korea congresswomen.
As they rose with their justification, Lee Gok's scowl deepened.
"Do you even know what that bastard did?"
"What did he do?"
"He sullied our proud Republic of Korea's—nay, 1,000-year-old Supreme Lee Clan's affair!!"
"Exactly!"
"Rightly so!"
"Damn straight."
...Do these women think it's still the real Joseon era?
The world had become too peaceful to kill over rules and such.
But one congresswoman? Maybe.
Four or five teaming up? Even as heir candidate, Lee Gok couldn't argue.
If Clan Head Mom stepped in directly, that'd be different, but...
"Clan Head! Aren't you the one who must uphold the rules above all?!"
"Don't you think what we're doing is too much?"
"This is the succession blood battle! The clan's future hangs in the balance! And some commoner—no, a mere man disrupts it?!"
"We won't kill him considering the times, but we can't just let him walk free!"
"...I know. That's why I'm quietly accepting it."
"M-Mom?!"
The Clan Head must always remain neutral.
Lee Yul, direct line and thus unpopular with collaterals, was still the head.
If judgment was needed here, clan rules demanded punishing the battle disruptor.
"Mom! But if this goes on, Seolgi and Yongchan will both...!"
"......"
Painful as it was, as Supreme Lee Clan Head, Lee Yul could only blame herself inwardly.
Outwardly, the cold collective swallowed bloody tears and decided to side with the collaterals this time...
"G-Gahk...!"
"?!"
"W-What?"
Or so they thought.
"P-Princess Lee Hanul?"
"Is that guy messing around?"
Direct and collateral alike, everyone around the arena fell silent.
Because the promising next-gen from the collaterals,
A princess hailed as a collateral genius who had reached D-rank in her thirties,
"Hey, you lot stay right there."
Was choking in agony, neck gripped by a mere man.