Where Do You Get Off Pointing Fingers?
{Where do you get off pointing fingers?}
{Where do you get off pointing fingers?}
Thud—
Alexia toppled backward, slamming onto the ground on her back.
Thankfully, Kang Jin-ho had pulled his punch, so her head didn't explode.
If he'd put even a little more force into it, her skull would've burst like a watermelon.
"……."
Alexia sprawled on the floor looked utterly pathetic.
Her face was a gruesome mess.
The innocent, girl-next-door beauty that had enchanted so many was gone without a trace.
Her once-straight nose was smashed flat, barely visible—like some bald, noseless wizard.
Her cherry lips were burst open into mush, all shape lost.
And around her mouth, bloody foam mixed with white shards spilled out.
The spots where her front teeth had been were empty voids.
"Hmmm."
Kang Jin-ho gazed down at her indifferently and muttered.
"Even a beauty turns bucktoothed when her corn gets plucked. Guess that proves it."
The villagers didn't dare even breathe, glancing warily at one another.
The pitchfork-waving fury from moments ago, screaming to kill the witch, had vanished.
With the revelation that their trusted merchant Lishia was an Outer God follower, they were focused on grasping their own dire situation first.
"Hey."
Kang Jin-ho approached the fallen Alexia.
He roughly grabbed her by the hair and yanked her head up.
Her eyes had rolled back white, and her wrecked face was nightmare fuel.
But Kang Jin-ho said calmly,
"Oh? Still not waking up?"
Alexia couldn't respond.
She was out cold, eyes rolled back, foaming at the mouth.
The pain of her hair being pulled wouldn't rouse her.
But Kang Jin-ho had no intention of letting it slide.
"If you don't wake up, you're really dead."
Still no reply.
"Fine. Then I'll force you awake."
Shiiiing—
Blue aura erupted from Kang Jin-ho's hand.
But it didn't form into its usual combat shape.
It just spread like mist over Alexia's head and through her body.
This was the aura massage—a healing technique using aura.
Different from healing magic or priests' spells.
It infused massive life force to boost the body's natural recovery.
"Gaaahhhh!"
A scream tore from Alexia's mouth.
No wonder. Aura massage wasn't supposed to be done like this.
It was a gentle process, massaging the body bit by bit while trickling in aura to enhance recovery.
Dumping it in like this made every nerve feel like it was burning alive.
The agony snapped even her unconscious mind awake.
"It hurts! Aaaahhhh!"
"You're up."
Kang Jin-ho released her hair.
Alexia collapsed to the ground, clutching her face.
But the sensation under her fingers felt alien.
For starters, she couldn't feel her nose.
"M-mirror!"
She cast a mirror spell and frantically checked her face.
"Aaaahhh! My fathe! My fathe!"
The reflection was a nightmare incarnate.
Her nose was pulverized, formless.
Her lips were split and swollen huge.
Every word whistled through the empty space in her mouth.
With all her front teeth gone, her lips curled inward like a bucktoothed hag.
The pitiful, beautiful girl's face was no more.
Just a bloody monster screaming in the mirror.
"Thith can't be happening! No way!"
Alexia hurled the mirror away, freaking out.
Even before borrowing the Outer God's power, her beauty was innate.
Along with her black magic talent, her looks were her pride.
Beauty was as absolute to her as power.
And one punch had shattered it all.
"Shut up."
Kang Jin-ho scowled, annoyed.
"You've seen the mirror. Face reality now, bucktooth."
"Hic!"
Alexia glared at him with pure resentment.
But fear kept her from lunging.
She knew she'd die in seconds if she tried.
Surviving this spot was the immediate problem.
"Wanna live?"
Kang Jin-ho tossed out the bait.
Alexia's eyes wavered.
'I want to live.'
She did.
She didn't want to die.
She'd sold her soul to the Outer God for power.
"I-itth there a w-way?"
Her words leaked out lisping through missing teeth as she asked desperately.
Kang Jin-ho smirked and pointed at Esmi watching this.
"Simple. Fight Esmi over there."
"What?"
Alexia looked at Esmi in shock.
Esmi stared back with wide, surprised eyes.
"One-on-one. Use all your power, magic, summons—whatever. No holds barred. Win, and you're free."
Kang Jin-ho crossed his arms and continued.
"I swear on Kwonje Jin's honor. Beat her, and I'll let you go. Bonus: do whatever you want with these villagers. Sacrifice 'em, kill 'em, I don't care."
Alexia's eyes gleamed.
'I can win!'
Esmi was a genius black mage, sure.
But she was a coward who couldn't kill a fly.
Alexia had the Outer God's power.
She could summon enhanced beasts.
No hesitation in killing.
Her odds were great.
She could win!
"But."
Kang Jin-ho turned to Esmi.
"If Esmi wins, even if she spares you, I kill you. And what happens to the villagers? Her call."
To Kang Jin-ho, this was a game.
A game to spice up this boring play.
"Hey! What the hell are you saying?!"
"Yeah!"
Then it happened.
Grumbled shouts erupted from the silent villagers.
They'd realized their lives hung on these two black mages' duel.
"Why should we die?!"
"What did we do wrong?!"
"We were tricked by that witch!"
"Spare us! We're victims!"
The crowd clamored, begging Kang Jin-ho.
Some, blind with rage, lost all sense.
One of the scythe-wielding youths charged forward, pointing accusingly.
"Who the hell are you to gamble our lives? We're victims!"
The youth screamed.
In his mind, he was righteous.
Bravely calling out wrongdoing.
He thought himself noble and cool.
"If you've got power, protect the weak! Letting those witches fight and leaving us to die? You call yourself human?!"
Utter gall.
Hard to believe this was the same guy who'd just tried killing innocents.
Savage when they felt strong.
Instant victim act and moralizing the moment they were weak.
But the youth believed his logic flawless.
He figured even this Kwonje would care about his rep.
Sure he'd reflect and apologize.
"Victim?"
Kang Jin-ho echoed coldly.
"Yeah! Victims! That bitch tricked us!"
The youth jabbed at Alexia, venting injustice.
But Kang Jin-ho's face was ice.
"Who the fuck are you to talk down to me?"
His hand moved.
Crack.
"Gaaahhh!"
A chilling bone snap echoed as the youth's scream rang out.
Kang Jin-ho had grabbed the pointing arm and twisted it backward.
The elbow grotesquely reversed, the youth writhed on the ground.
"Hiiik!"
Villagers recoiled in horror.
Those secretly cheering him on were terrified by Kang Jin-ho's response.
Kang Jin-ho looked down at the writhing youth like vermin.
"You sub-insect trash dare point and lecture me? Filthy shit."
No mercy in his voice.
"Worthless drivel not even worth hearing. You thought you were hot shit and vented on innocents. Mistook mercy for your own greatness."
No one answered.
Not just because they couldn't refute.
Pure terror.
Kang Jin-ho was too scary to approach.
Fear they'd end up like the youth silenced them.
"You wanted to burn people alive, hack them with scythes—and now you play weakling."
Kang Jin-ho bellowed at the villagers.
"Feeling wronged? You were the Outer God's pawns, unrepentant about trying to kill innocents. If you're so wronged, come at me! I'll make it hurt!"
The villagers fell silent.
Overwhelming fear crushed their grievances, their moral demands.
Whining didn't work on this foe—they shrank small.