The Temptress of Discord
The suggestion came out of nowhere.
“Wouldn’t the duel end instantly if we just put Eun-yeong unnie in the first slot?”
It was true. No matter how skilled the swordsmen of Ilseom were, none of them could withstand the shockwave that cat unleashed. Even dodging it would be difficult. It erupts without any warning whatsoever.
“That might actually work.”
“U-um… well… Azraelon still hasn’t recovered his full strength yet. Using his power multiple times is… difficult for him.”
Ham Eun-yeong’s voice was barely more than a hesitant whisper, each word trembling as it left her lips.
“What? Hey, kitty-cat. You only spat it out five times. That’s seriously all you’ve got?”
“D-don’t talk to our Azraelon like that!”
When Bae Jua, still sprawled on the ground, wiggled her fingers in a teasing provocation toward the cat, Eun-yeong actually pushed back—an extremely rare show of defiance from her.
……That Jua woman. I’m going to have to deal with her one of these days.
……Azra, she was just joking. Can’t you read the room?
……I don’t care about that!
Azra growled at Jua as if deeply offended, but to my eyes it just looked like a chubby cat purring contentedly. Still, the way Rakan had charged at Eun-yeong with the clear intent to rip her arm off must have genuinely angered the demon cat. He had pushed himself a little too hard. His stamina was lacking, but the destructive power of that single strike remained terrifying.
The repulsive force is impressive, but the lack of lethal follow-through is still strange no matter how many times I see it. For a demon, his abilities feel strangely benevolent.
“Hmph! Don’t worry. I’ll sweep the first round all by myself!”
“Hayun, what exactly are you basing that confidence on?”
“Just wait and see. Hehe.”
Whatever happened, the final runner—Ham Eun-yeong—possessed that kind of overwhelming power. The possibility of our side losing the duel didn’t even cross my mind.
“Yeon-hee, aren’t you going to practice?”
“I… I want to focus solely on getting more familiar with this bracelet.”
When Jua asked from her lazy position on the ground, Yeon-hee stroked her chin thoughtfully and turned to No Hayun.
“There is definitely an effect. By any chance, do you know who created this bracelet?”
“Why? Want me to look into it?”
No Hayun shrugged as if to say just give the word.
“Yes, please.”
“That’s not difficult. Though commissioning one is incredibly tough. Even if they accept the request, the price is astronomical. Those dwarf bastards are masters at gouging people.”
It was a subtle way of saying that only someone on the level of the Bijeon Guild’s ‘Witch’ could even make such a request. Yeon-hee seemed quite taken with the bracelet; she said that if they accepted the commission, she would find a way to cover the cost no matter what.
The flow of mana doesn’t seem to have increased at all… so what exactly improved? I couldn’t tell. On the other hand, I felt my body growing lighter as time passed, yet I still couldn’t understand why Yeon-hee wanted the bracelet so badly.
After watching my companions spar for a while longer, I secretly approached Yeon-hee, gave her a signal, and slipped away from the area. Once I had put some distance between myself and the house under Stealth, I found a secluded spot and immediately activated Mimicry.
The spatial ability Bin Chi-seung had possessed ended before I could properly taste its potential, but it clearly held merit. Because I possessed the special sense ability, I had seen a way to escape. Any other hunter would have simply been trapped until they starved to death.
To obtain the Boundary Sanctuary, I need to eliminate another ‘Great Villain’…
Even so, I had no intention of overdoing it. My mental corruption had eased somewhat, but facing one directly was still too dangerous. For now, I only planned to identify what kind of opponent I was dealing with.
The dot that appeared on my minimap was once again quite far away. Perhaps it was because powerful hunters were concentrated in the capital region, allowing villains in the provinces more room to run wild.
When I touched the dot on the minimap, a human silhouette slowly took shape.
Hmm… Another new face. Slender build. Definitely a woman.
There were probably many villains like Bin Chi-seung who would have lived their entire lives without their identities being exposed if I hadn’t interfered. This woman was likely one of them.
The woman who appeared had light brown hair and a beauty so striking that even I—who was utterly devoted to Yeon-hee—couldn’t deny her charm. She appeared to be in her mid-to-late twenties, but considering the nature of hunters, she was probably closer to her thirties.
Ha Se-rin, the Temptress of Discord
Instinctively detects lovers whose love has reached its peak and seduces one of them with high probability.
An extremely heinous great villain who artificially creates moments of impossible separation.
Another hobby of this terrible villain is gathering the seduced people and making them fight each other until they die.
Unless you take action, this great villain’s evil deeds will remain unknown to anyone until the moment the world ends.
Has driven 433 people to their deaths so far.
Is currently inflicting pain on 27 people.
Reward: Skill Boundary Sanctuary, powerful resistance to charm and provocation effects
What kind of lunatic is this…?
A crazy woman who had driven a staggering 433 people to death. She was a true villain, having committed roughly 290 more murders than Bin Chi-seung.
At least the number of people she’s currently tormenting is relatively low. It probably means she kills them shortly after seducing them.
At this point, I was beginning to wonder if Cha Jin-hyeok from my previous life didn’t even qualify as a villain by comparison.
You can now observe the evil deeds of Ha Se-rin, the Temptress of Discord.
This is where it gets tricky… I’ll watch just enough and then pull out.
After a brief moment of hesitation, I accepted. My vision shifted, and I found myself in an empty lot.
It was another familiar sight—an abandoned building where construction had been halted. Inside, more than twenty men and women were tangled together in a chaotic brawl, clawing, biting, and tearing at one another.
…? They’re even using items with cognitive impairment effects. What the hell is this?
“Do your best, Un-il~”
“Ughhh!! Aaaargh! Serin called my name!! Get the hell out of here before I rip you apart! I have to be with her!”
“Kyaaaaaaa!”
“Waaaagh!”
“D-don’t bite! My throat—my throat!”
This is beyond messed up.
Normal people fighting was far more brutal and horrifying than awakened beings clashing, and the fact that men and women were mixed together only intensified the revulsion.
“Die, you son of a bitch!! Serin is mine!!”
“Serin belongs to me, you pumpkin-faced trash whore!”
“Gurgh! The knife—stop! Don’t push it in!”
“Heeheeheehee…! Die, you filthy, stinking bastards! Spending a night with Serin-nim is my right!”
“Kyahahaha— Un-il! Is that all you’ve got? Is that the extent of your feelings for me?!”
……So that’s her.
The scene was already disgusting enough that I didn’t want to watch anymore, but there she was—sitting on the sofa opposite them, clapping her hands and laughing brightly.
She is a rare beauty, but none of this would be possible without her skill.
“Kyahahaha— Blue T-shirt! You’re not giving up already, are you? Your lover is watching!”
“Aaaah… Serin-nim…!”
Lover? Ah…
I realized that the phone Ha Se-rin was holding was showing a man. On the other side of the screen, a woman who appeared to be the man’s lover was sobbing uncontrollably as she watched him scream Serin’s name with an ecstatic expression.
Is she locked up somewhere?
The woman on the video call had a gag in her mouth and her arms tied behind her back. Ha Se-rin trembled with delight as she watched the woman’s reaction.
This crazy bitch…
The sight was so repulsive that my head began to feel slightly heavy. I set aside the detailed situation and focused on analyzing Ha Se-rin’s abilities.
I probably won’t feel anything, but… hmm?
Unlike with Bin Chi-seung, I could faintly sense Ha Se-rin’s energy.
Is it because she’s stronger than Bin Chi-seung? Or does this ability also level up?
Either way, it didn’t matter.
Her stats are at the upper tier of B-grade. Well-balanced overall. She seems as agile as Arin. In a one-on-one fight, subduing her shouldn’t be too difficult… but that ability of hers is the problem.
A close-combat fighter with special abilities—she was a very rare type. I wanted to see exactly how she used the power that tore lovers apart. If it worked on me as well, it would become a serious headache.
Cold Mind didn’t block every status effect, after all.
Would I qualify under those conditions…? It’s possible.
Lovers whose love has reached its peak. Did Yeon-hee and I meet that criteria?
Anyway, having the final scene take place here is inconvenient.
There was no guarantee the villainess would stay in this location, and considering my limited time, it wasn’t ideal. The moment that thought crossed my mind, the location changed again.
Huh?
This time I arrived in a rather large café with beautiful interior design.
A café again.
I seemed to be visiting cafés quite frequently these days. In my past life I had avoided crowded places as much as possible, so I had never particularly liked them… I remained in Stealth and fell into thought for a moment.
Hmm… I’m not sensing anything this time. With Bin Chi-seung it was his house… Is it dropping me at the place the designated great villain is most attached to? Or maybe—
While pondering, I walked further into the café. I observed the employees taking orders from customers and the people sitting at tables with relaxed expressions.
A peaceful scene. Even as the world crumbled, people drank coffee, laughed, chatted, and savored fleeting moments of comfort. Whenever I saw such sights, a corner of my chest ached.
…Did the system send me here to rest?
A dry laugh almost escaped me. The system wasn’t that considerate.
I expanded my senses to their limit. While I was staring blankly out the window, the woman I had been waiting for finally appeared within the range of my perception. The moment she entered the café, every head inside turned toward her.
Ha Se-rin crossed the room, claimed a seat, and continuously scanned her surroundings. Suddenly, mana flickered in her eyes as she stared intently at someone whose gaze met hers. Then, something began to rise from the body of one of the lovers she had locked eyes with.
A mark has been engraved… So this was a hunting ground where she searches for lovers who meet her conditions. This will do.
The villainess called Ha Se-rin didn’t say a single word. She was simply busy placing marks on her prey.
Does this ability have no restrictions? She’s just slapping marks on people left and right.
The scene sped by as if someone had fast-forwarded several hours. After gathering a few key pieces of information, I ended the vision.
Returning to the spot where I had activated Mimicry, I let out several long sighs and organized my thoughts.
She has two bodyguards.
At a distance where I could keep her in sight, two powerful A-grade hunters were watching over her. It was going to be tough. Two fighters on Maeng Seong-yong’s level… Were they victims of her ability, or simply hired help? Either way, this was going to be exhausting.
Based on the conversations I had overheard in the café, the vision had taken place on a weekend. She had invested quite a long time in searching for prey.
I can aim for a weekend once I’m ready… Arrive early, provoke her appropriately, then lure her somewhere else. But that’s not the real problem.
The question was whether I could handle two A-grades plus a great villain with high-tier B-grade abilities all at once.
Is it worth pushing myself when my growth is still incomplete…? This requires careful judgment.
Having a space that was entirely my own was special. Now that I knew the Dark Space wasn’t completely mine, the value of obtaining my own domain felt even greater. Even the hunters called Transcendents, despite being bound by constraints, possessed unique spaces where they could assert their will without interference from anyone. That was a tremendous advantage.
At the very least, within that space, they were the strongest.
I want it… Eliminating her is possible if I push myself. I have self-destruction, after all. But not yet. I don’t have any countermeasures against the mental corruption.
I shook off my lingering attachment and returned home.