Chapter 44
Chapter 44
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: I Know Where She Is
-----------------------------------------------------------------
I know where she is.
Choi Minseok smashed the walkie-talkie in his hand.
Plastic shards flew as the shattered device rolled across the floor.
"Ugh, uwaa…."
The guard's face twisted in terror at the sight of the walkie-talkie breaking apart and scattering.
Instinctively, he staggered back, drew the stun baton from his belt, and swung it wildly.
Blue electricity sparked with a threatening crackle, but Choi Minseok paid it no mind.
"Where is she."
He didn't dodge the baton swinging toward him. Instead, he casually swung his arm as if annoyed.
Bam!
"Khek!"
Like a fly swatted by a flyswatter, the guard's body sliced through the air.
He crashed into a container box behind him and passed out on the spot.
That was when it happened.
"Take him down!"
"Gahk!"
At someone's command, villains poured out from deeper inside the warehouse.
Roughly twenty of them.
They exuded a ferocious aura that screamed "villain."
Weapons and skills of every kind were aimed at Choi Minseok.
"Kill him!"
"Die!"
Fireballs, ice arrows, wind cutters, and flying rocks rained down on Choi Minseok.
They unleashed every attack in a single moment, smirking as they sensed victory.
They were certain no enemy could survive that barrage.
Boom boom boom!
All the magic struck him directly, thick smoke billowing up as the villains shouted in triumph.
"Stupid bastard couldn't even dodge."
"Thinks he's S-rank or something."
"What kind of lunatic barges in here? Some Kim nobody."
But as if refusing to play along with their expectations, Choi Minseok emerged from the clearing smoke looking barely scratched.
As the thick smoke dispersed, the smirks on the villains' faces turned to shock.
"K-21."
His combat suit was torn and singed, but his actual body was unscratched.
He glared at them with blazing eyes, utterly unfazed.
He looked like a giant forged from steel.
"Y-You monster…!"
Unable to grasp the situation, one villain charged with a dagger in hand.
He must have used an acceleration skill—his speed was too fast to follow with the naked eye.
But.
Grab.
"Huh…?"
Choi Minseok's massive palm clamped onto the charging villain's head.
His entire head was engulfed in that single hand, like a basketball.
His grip was an inescapable shackle.
"G-Gaaaah! H-Head! My head!!"
The villain flailed in midair, but Choi Minseok's arm didn't budge.
With an indifferent gaze, he hoisted him up and hurled him full force at the clustered villains behind.
Whoosh—crash!
"Kaaack!"
He flew at an unbelievable speed for a human.
Like a shot put, he barreled through the villains and slammed into the wall.
The wall crumbled, and the raw sounds of breaking bones echoed.
That was when it happened.
"Hunter Choi Minseok! We're here to support you!"
Two hunters burst through the door Choi Minseok had smashed.
They were B-rank hunters dispatched from the Busan branch of the Hunter Association.
The sharp-eyed man charged in with his sword drawn; his name tag read Kang Dohyun.
The other, wearing heavy gauntlets, was named Park Jinsu.
They couldn't believe the carnage before them the moment they entered.
Over a dozen villains lay scattered on the floor, with Choi Minseok standing like a giant in their midst.
Debris from countless attacks littered the area around him.
"Hey, Jinsu. No time to dawdle."
"…I was just surprised for a second."
True to their veteran status, they quickly shook it off and sprang into action.
"We'll handle the small fry! Hunter Choi, take the center!"
Kang Dohyun shouted as he drew his sword.
Blue mana gathered along the blade.
"Let's go, Jinsu!"
"Hraaah!"
Park Jinsu roared as he kicked off the floor.
They smoothly took positions to Choi Minseok's left and right.
Clang!
Kang Dohyun's sword deflected an axe swinging at him from the side.
With fluid motion, he spun the blade and sliced into the villain's shoulder.
"Kugh!"
At the same time, Park Jinsu launched forward and punched at another leaping villain.
His gauntlet slammed into the villain's gut with a heavy burst.
With the Association hunters joining, Choi Minseok no longer had to watch his back.
"I'll leave the cleanup to you."
Choi Minseok entrusted the rear to Kang Dohyun and Park Jinsu, then charged forward.
He began destroying everything in sight, as if he'd abandoned all reason.
Crunch.
He ripped out a nearby pillar and swung it down.
"Dodge!!"
"Uwaaaak!"
The steel pillar collided with the floor in a thunderous boom, sending three or four villains tumbling or flying.
Mana barriers or not, it made no difference.
Before overwhelming mass and overwhelming power, all were equally crushed.
"What the hell is that guy?!"
"Where did this monster even come from?!"
"Uwaak!"
The villains lost all will to fight and fled in panic.
From that point, it could no longer be called a battle.
It was a one-sided hunt.
Choi Minseok snatched the nape of a fleeing villain who seemed to be the leader.
He was the one who'd been barking orders at the others.
That hulking body dangled like a toy in midair, legs kicking wildly.
"Where is she."
Choi Minseok's eyes gleamed with a golden light mixed with red.
Only one goal reflected in his pupils.
"K-21… Where's Yoonseo."
"I-I don't know! I don't! Really, I don't! We just pick up the goods here…!"
"Goods?"
"N-No! The test subject…!"
Bam!
Choi Minseok slammed him into the floor.
The impact spiderwebbed cracks across the concrete.
"Kugh…."
"Goods?"
"Guuh… I-I'm sorry…."
"Talk. She's not here? Then where's the other facility. Speak! Or I'll crush your skull right now."
As if to prove it wasn't a bluff, his grip tightened.
The villain screamed as his head felt like it was splitting.
"B-Busan outskirts!! There's an abandoned factory th—aaak!!!"
"…Abandoned factory."
Thud!!
Choi Minseok smashed the villain's head into the floor with all his strength.
The villain went limp, either unconscious or worse.
"Haa."
He rose, breathing heavily.
The surroundings were complete ruins.
The only intact things in his vision were the two hunters.
They gulped under his overwhelming presence, watching silently.
"You two."
"…Y-Yes! Sir!"
"Handle the cleanup. I'm heading out fi—?!"
That was when it happened.
A massive axe shrouded in black mana hurtled toward Choi Minseok.
Grind—
Choi Minseok hurriedly raised both hands to block, but even his golden mana couldn't halt the axe's momentum.
It was a heavy force that pushed back an S-rank like him.
Boom!
The axe he deflected spun through the air before snapping into someone's hand.
A burly, muscular man landed with a thud.
"Kuhaha! You blocked it? Not bad!"
The man grinned maniacally as he regripped his two-handed axe.
But it wasn't over.
Screech—clank!
A bizarre mechanical whir echoed from the shadows opposite, and a massive leopard-like mechanical beast leaped out.
Red lasers beamed from its eyes, sharp metal claws scraping the floor.
"What the hell is this…."
Before Choi Minseok could steady himself, the two attacked in unison.
"Die!"
Kaboom!
The axe cleaved down from above, the mechanical beast lunging low.
Choi Minseok gritted his teeth into a defensive stance.
No matter that he was an S-rank tanker—even he struggled against an unknown axe villain and erratic mechanical beast in tandem.
Unable to find an opening to counter, he was pushed back on the defensive.
"H-Hunter Choi!"
Kang Dohyun and Park Jinsu panicked at the sight.
The invincible Choi Minseok was being overwhelmed.
Kang Dohyun assessed quickly.
"That machine isn't autonomous. There's a controller nearby."
"What?"
"I'll make an opening—you find the controller! If we stop that machine, we can win!"
"Got it!"
Park Jinsu turned without hesitation and vanished into the shadows.
"Kuhahaha! Great! You're the strongest I've fought yet! More! Make it more fun!"
The axe villain laughed like a battle maniac, swinging his axe like a propeller.
Each strike packed building-shattering power.
"Get out of the way!!"
Choi Minseok bellowed as he threw a punch, but the mechanical beast cunningly clamped onto his arm, creating an opening.
The axe exploited it, slamming into his shoulder.
Thud!
"Kugh!"
Choi Minseok staggered into the corner.
This wouldn't do. He couldn't win on defense alone.
Choi Minseok's eyes flashed.
He wrapped his body in red energy.
⚡ SKILL ACTIVATED ⚡ [Provoke] "You monster…."
Choi Minseok's low voice struck the axe villain's eardrums.
"Come at me."
"You bastard!!"
Enraged by Provoke, the axe villain lost his reason and raised his axe high.
Choi Minseok didn't evade.
Ignoring the pain of his clavicle being gouged, he burrowed into the villain's guard.
Grab!
"G-Guhk?!"
Choi Minseok's massive hand seized the axe villain's throat.
"Got you."
Boom!!!
He slammed him into the floor.
The ground quaked like an earthquake.
In that instant, Choi Minseok's back was exposed. The mechanical beast seized the chance, thrusting its sharp tail at his nape.
Clang!!
"Krgh…!"
But Kang Dohyun had leaped in, blocking the tail with his sword.
The force was too much for a B-rank hunter, but he gritted his teeth and held.
"Now… do it!"
Choi Minseok didn't miss the opening.
He tightened his grip on the axe villain's throat, pinned to the floor.
"Grrrk…."
"K-21!!! Where is she!!! Where's my wife!!! Tell me now or I'll kill this bastard!!"
His desperate cry shook the factory.
As the axe villain's eyes rolled back in struggle,
"Mm~ You're looking for the K-21 test subject?"
A chillingly soft voice drifted from the darkness.
Choi Minseok jerked his head up.
In that split-second gap.
"Hup!"
The axe villain twisted free from his grasp with brute force.
He rolled back, clutching his throat and coughing.
"Cough! Haa, haa… Nearly died there."
Choi Minseok paused his pursuit.
The voice's owner had revealed herself.
"…Jinsu!"
Kang Dohyun screamed.
Emerging from the shadows was a woman in a white coat.
And in one hand, she dangled the throat of Park Jinsu, who'd gone to find the controller.
Park Jinsu hung limp, covered in blood.
His chest rose and fell faintly—he was still alive, but barely.
"You…."
Choi Minseok's eyes wavered.
The woman elegantly swept back her fallen hair with a graceful gesture and smiled.
"I know where she is."
"……What?"
Choi Minseok's killing intent faltered.
Savoring his reaction, the woman tightened her grip on Park Jinsu's throat and spoke.
"Exactly. Returning one life for one life sounds like a fair trade, doesn't it?"
"……What are you talking about."
"Simple."
Her gaze raked over Choi Minseok's bulging muscles and physique.
Her eyes gleamed with greedy hunger, like eyeing a delicacy.
"What will you give us for her?"
She licked her lips.
"Your body looks so tempting."
"…."
"Hm? Don't want her that badly after all?"
"…Nonsense."
"What? It's true. Why don't you believe me?"
"……."
"Hey, Im Seyeon. Cut the bullshit and fall back for now."
The axe villain was still rubbing his sore throat.
For some reason, he no longer radiated the same bloodlust.
"…Maybe. Time's up anyway."
"Hey, monster. Next time I see you, you're dead."
He growled at Choi Minseok, then turned and fled.
As Im Seyeon smacked her lips and pivoted to follow,
"Where do you think—!"
Choi Minseok kicked off the floor and leaped.
The moment he reached for her,
She hurled Park Jinsu at him.
"…!"
Caught off guard, Choi Minseok couldn't bring himself to swat him away and cradled Park Jinsu instead.
In that interval, Im Seyeon had vanished.
"…Uwaaa!!"
Having let the villains escape, he could only roar his fury at the empty air.