Facing Yoo Heeyeon
-Bang bang bang bang-! Lee Hyunseung's bullet began charging straight toward the sphere of lightning. Jeong Saeron watched the scene and felt certain. She had won. It couldn't be any other way.
The Lightning Cannon Jeong Saeron had cast was already a skill with tremendous power, but she had spent even longer channeling it this time, pushing its strength to even greater heights. It was magic fired at the maximum output she could manage. She believed there was no way something like that could be stopped by a mere basic pistol.
'If he gets hit by the magic and passes out, I'll retire him immediately.'
Jeong Saeron had already planned in her head exactly how she would act once Lee Hyunseung was struck by the Lightning Cannon. But her plan never had the chance to be used. The reason was simple.
-BOOOOOOM-!
Lee Hyunseung's bullet had pierced straight through Jeong Saeron's Lightning Cannon and was still flying toward her.
'N... No way...!'
Jeong Saeron bit her tongue without realizing it. The idea that a single bullet could penetrate a Lightning Cannon was something that defied all common sense.
-Piiing-!
Even after piercing the Lightning Cannon, the bullet continued rushing straight at Jeong Saeron. Its momentum never faltered as it hurtled forward at an insane speed.
Death. The thought of dying completely erased any awareness that this was merely a stage. The bullet approached at tremendous speed, and it began to feel as though time itself had slowed to a crawl. Had her reaction speed increased? No. This was what others called a life-flashing-before-your-eyes moment.
She began her final struggle. She gathered every last bit of strength she had left and created a defensive barrier.
Magic Shield
The hastily formed Magic Shield looked crude, but it was a spell capable of easily blocking most blade strikes and explosive attacks. She thought it might be able to stop Lee Hyunseung's bullet, whose speed had already been reduced once. She was wrong.
-Thud-!
"Huh...?"
Jeong Saeron heard the sound of something piercing flesh. A burning sensation spread near her solar plexus. A metallic scent filled her nose.
"T... That can't be... It can't be..."
It was a lie. It couldn't be real. She refused to accept that her Lightning Cannon, fired with every ounce of her strength, had been pierced, and that the Magic Shield she created afterward had been penetrated as well. But then—
-Drip drip drip-
The massive amount of blood flowing from her abdomen forced her to acknowledge that she had been hit.
-Searing-!
A burning pain began flooding through her body.
"Kgh... Kyaaaaah-!"
A scream burst out before any cry of pain could form. It was hot. It felt as though the wound in her stomach was burning and melting away.
"Kgh..."
The pain, like a burn, stabbed at her abdomen. The secondary pain that followed the initial penetration was far worse. It was strange.
Lee Hyunseung looked at the suffering Jeong Saeron and checked the message that appeared before him.
Due to the [Legendary] Gunner class effect, additional damage is dealt.
Lee Hyunseung's Gunner job level had recently reached 2. Thanks to the inherent buff of the Legendary grade combined with his increased job level, even his basic attacks felt significantly stronger.
'This is no joke.'
Looking at Jeong Saeron, he could truly feel the power. She had been hit by a single bullet whose force had already been reduced, yet she was writhing in agony, tears streaming down her face. They said that when the pain was too great, people couldn't even speak properly. She could only mutter broken screams as tears flowed, unable to form coherent words. Anyone watching might have thought she had been caught in a massive bombardment.
-Swish-
Lee Hyunseung naturally turned his gaze to Kang Junhyeong standing beside him.
-Tremble-
Kang Junhyeong's body froze instantly. He couldn't even think of charging forward. People didn't feel tense when facing someone weaker than themselves, equal to them, or only slightly stronger. But when they encountered an overwhelmingly superior existence, their bodies would ache and stiffen. That was exactly Kang Junhyeong's current state.
-Shiver shiver shiver-
'Move... Please... Please move.'
He desperately tried to force his body to move, but it refused to listen. When the brain receives excessive damage, it severs consciousness to protect the body. This was known as a "blackout" state. It was also connected to the survival instinct. The brain was sending signals. It was dangerous to continue acting, so it told him not to move. Just like the blackout phenomenon, signals kept firing in Kang Junhyeong's brain.
He must not oppose this. If he moved here—
'I'll die...'
-Crack-
Lee Hyunseung twisted his neck at an unnatural angle and walked slowly toward the fallen Jeong Saeron.
"Kgh... Ugh... It... It hurts... It hurts so much..."
Jeong Saeron had no room to look around.
"Hey."
Even when Lee Hyunseung called right in front of her, she didn't react.
-Swish-
Lee Hyunseung raised his gun and struck Jeong Saeron with it.
-Thud-!
Jeong Saeron's body flew up slightly for a moment. Looking down at her trembling with fear, Lee Hyunseung spoke coldly.
"You were so eager to look down on people and sneer at them just because you had an Epic-grade job and a mage's power. You tried to melt someone with magic like Lightning Cannon without hesitation. But now that you're the one getting hit, you're scared?"
Lee Hyunseung leaned in close to her face and muttered.
"People like you make my blood boil. You swing around a job and grade you got by luck as if they were your own power and authority."
-Grind grind-
Lee Hyunseung thought of Yoo Heeyeon. The way she used magic, the way she looked down on others—Jeong Saeron resembled her far too much.
Lee Hyunseung spoke icily.
"Charging Lightning Cannon to its limit and firing it at someone means you were trying to kill them, right? That's how I should interpret it?"
Jeong Saeron looked at Lee Hyunseung and apologized, stammering.
"I... I'm sorry... It... It was just a match... I... I just wanted to win... A... Anyway, even if you get attacked here... You... You won't actually die..."
Jeong Saeron grabbed Lee Hyunseung's ankle as she stuttered, as if begging.
Lee Hyunseung smiled coldly.
"You said it well. Yeah, it's a match. It's not like anyone actually dies here. So I guess I don't need to feel sorry either."
-Swish-
Lee Hyunseung aimed his gun at Jeong Saeron's forehead.
"W... Wait... What I meant was..."
-Click-
-Bang-!
When Lee Hyunseung pulled the trigger, Jeong Saeron collapsed to the ground.
-Shiver shiver shiver-
-Thud-
She trembled for a moment before her movements completely stopped.
An A-class participant has been eliminated.
The broadcast announcement echoed. 'Yoo Heeyeon will start moving quickly now too.'
He had already eliminated two people: Nam Inwoo and Jeong Saeron. There had been far more announcements about F-class eliminations, but even so, the announcement of A-class eliminations would make Yoo Heeyeon impatient. Before long, she would use detection magic and reach the second capture point. It didn't matter. There was still some time before she arrived.
He couldn't keep running forever.
'25 minutes.'
The time remaining until the artifact that would help control Han Seonggil's Berserker trait was completed.
[Grudge of the First Knight] Item creation time remaining: 25 minutes.
'I can hold out.'
This much was easily manageable. Once this was completed, he could execute the second phase of his plan. Thinking this, Lee Hyunseung approached Kang Junhyeong.
"Why? You looked desperate earlier, but now your body's frozen stiff."
When Lee Hyunseung spoke, Kang Junhyeong answered.
"I... I have to win this match... M... My father..."
-Swish-
-Bang-
Lee Hyunseung fired without a word.
"Cough-!"
Kang Junhyeong clutched his chest where the bullet had pierced and shed tears.
"I... I have to win... Win and... p... pay back the..."
-Whoosh-
Kang Junhyeong's body, judged to have taken excessive damage, was being forcibly transported outside the stage. Lee Hyunseung looked at the fallen Kang Junhyeong with an expression devoid of emotion.
"Who doesn't have a story? I also have a reason I absolutely have to win."
Kang Junhyeong glared at him while trembling. It was because the cold, cynical words had stirred up his emotions. But soon, meeting Lee Hyunseung's gaze, he quietly closed his eyes.
-Shiver shiver-
Lee Hyunseung's fists were clenched, and his arms were trembling. Red veins had risen chaotically in his eyes, making them grotesquely bloodshot. Kang Junhyeong recognized that look. It was the same expression he had worn when he heard that his father had been cheated out of payment. He knew that emotion well.
[Grudge]
It was an eye filled with bitter resentment.
'Just what happened to him...'
Rather than feeling angry or despairing over his defeat, he was curious. What could have driven this person to such extremes? Was it because of the stalking incident and Yoo Heeyeon? That was only speculation.
Kang Junhyeong quietly closed his eyes, and his body soon disappeared completely.
Jeong Eunseo looked at Lee Hyunseung standing silently and spoke.
"A... Are you okay?"
Lee Hyunseung looked at the spots where Kang Junhyeong and Jeong Saeron had been and answered.
"Yeah. I'm fine."
-Step-
-Step-
Then he walked toward Jeong Eunseo.
"This is going to hurt. Bear with it for a bit."
Lee Hyunseung pulled out the knife embedded in her arm.
-Thud-!
"Kgh...!"
Jeong Eunseo let out a short groan. Lee Hyunseung immediately swapped his magazine and fired at Jeong Eunseo. Numerous messages began appearing before her as well.
You have been hit by a bullet from the Healing Magazine. External wounds are closing, and fatigue is recovering rapidly.
Jeong Eunseo was shocked as she directly felt her wounds healing at an incredible speed and the fatigue accumulated in her body melting away in an instant.
"Normal healing bullets shouldn't be able to treat wounds this quickly..."
Lee Hyunseung answered with a smile.
"They wouldn't if a normal Gunner used them."
Only then did Jeong Eunseo realize once again that Lee Hyunseung was an existence beyond the norm. She dusted herself off and stood up from the floor. Her body felt refreshed, as if she had just woken from sleep. She was in peak condition.
"Then we should..."
Just as Jeong Eunseo was about to say something—
"Jeong Eunseo. Sorry, but get ready for combat."
"Huh...?"
Jeong Eunseo turned her dazed gaze toward where Lee Hyunseung was looking. There stood—
"H... How are you here...? You... You should have been eliminated..."
Yoo Heeyeon stared at Lee Hyunseung with a shocked expression. Lee Hyunseung looked at her and answered.
"I died and came back to life just to kill you. Does that answer your question?"
-Grind-
"You... You're really insane."
"You're the insane one. In my eyes, you're the psychopath."
In that moment, Yoo Heeyeon's expression began to twist grotesquely.