God Is Dead
'No matter how I look at it, this guy is dangerous. I need to pay him his money and get him out of here as fast as possible.'
With that thought, Red Skull reached out toward the space behind Chugoe, intending to grab Ellen, who was hiding behind his back.
"Uh-uh."
Slap!
"...What do you think you're doing?" Red Skull frowned as Chugoe slapped his hand away.
Chugoe shrugged. "We need to settle up first. Come on, we're not amateurs here, are we?"
"Ridiculous. Anyone listening would think you kidnapped the girl all by yourself. You just sat in the back seat with her." Red Skull glared at Chugoe.
But Chugoe didn't care and simply spat out what he wanted. "Yeah, yeah. Just hand over the seventy million won. Then I'll hand her over."
"Sigh..."
"By the way, I don't see Rector around."
"He's waiting inside. Unlike some people, he actually has some decency."
Red Skull gave Chugoe one last glare before walking into the factory, as if he had no other choice.
Left alone, Ellen spoke to Kang Hyuk in a hushed, panicked voice. "M-Mr. Kang Hyuk! I think now is the perfect time to run away."
"Huh? Run away? Where would we run?"
"What? B-But you promised me!" Ellen clung to Kang Hyuk's arm, her face a picture of tearful despair.
Kang Hyuk let out a chuckle and placed his hand on her head. "Don't worry. I keep my promises."
"T-Then why...?"
"They dared to kidnap the B-class Hero, Saintess Ellen. Of course, I have to slaughter every last one of them right here! Don't you agree?"
"..."
At Kang Hyuk's question, Ellen's expression became incredibly complex. After all, one of those very kidnappers was standing right in front of her!
"Anyway, go hide somewhere. Behind the car would be good."
"What? Are you really going to fight them? Don't do this, let's just run away together. Please?" Ellen pleaded.
But no matter how precious his health pack—no, his healer's request was, Kang Hyuk could not back down on this. Having already lost Fox, he couldn't afford to let Red Skull and Rector slip through his fingers as well.
Creeeeak!
A moment later, the rusted iron door of the abandoned factory swung open, and Red Skull's face peeked out.
What is he doing, acting all coy?
Kang Hyuk was about to call out to him when he suddenly froze.
Red Skull's head suddenly popped off and dropped to the ground.
Thud!
Roll, roll, roll...!
"Ahhh!" Ellen shrieked in horror as Red Skull's head rolled across the dirt.
Kang Hyuk drew his revolver, instantly readying himself to fire at a moment's notice.
"Kuhahaha!"
A bizarre, maniacal laugh echoed from the darkness. Kang Hyuk frowned and raised his gun.
The man who emerged from the factory was none other than Rector.
"Rector... Even if Red Skull was a piece of shit, decapitating him is a bit much, don't you think?"
"Kuhahaha!"
"Why the hell did you suddenly do that?"
Kang Hyuk's face hardened. He genuinely couldn't comprehend the situation, and he was deeply annoyed. But more than confusion, what he felt was sheer rage.
Rector, you absolute son of a bitch! How dare you steal my experience points!
The only reason Kang Hyuk had joined this kidnapping party was to eliminate three D-class villains all at once. Hunting them down one by one made leveling up agonizingly slow.
But now that things had turned out like this, he was once again stuck with killing a single miserable villain. It was incredibly frustrating.
Of course, securing Ellen is a massive jackpot, so I'm still coming out way ahead. But still...!
Grit!
Kang Hyuk ground his teeth. He decided he could never forgive Rector for this.
"Rector, tell me. Why did you do this? Were you planning this from the start?"
"Kuhaha! Exactly!"
"For what reason?"
"Because the Saintess must belong to our Truth Sect!"
Kang Hyuk tilted his head in confusion. The Truth Sect? Why was that crazy cult suddenly popping up here?
In the world of Hero of the World, countless religious organizations existed, and the Truth Sect was one of them. However, the public universally regarded them as a bunch of lunatic cultists.
And for good reason—the Truth Sect was infamous for practicing human sacrifice.
"The Saintess must belong to our Truth Sect. No one else can have her."
"And what are you going to do with her?"
"Offer her to heaven! The Saintess will make a most pleasing sacrifice to our God!"
As Rector shouted fanatically toward the sky, Kang Hyuk let out a quiet sigh.
I should have known the moment he showed up without a mask...!
To Kang Hyuk, Rector was a certified madman. The bastard had clearly joined the kidnapping team from the very beginning with his eyes set solely on Ellen, planning to murder everyone at the end and smuggle her away to his cult.
I figured at least one other person would have some underhanded scheme... but I didn't expect it to be a religious fanatic.
Kang Hyuk clicked his tongue. He glanced back slightly.
"Ellen. Go behind the car. Now."
"What? B-But Mr. Kang Hyuk...!"
"It's fine, just go hide. You're in the way here."
Urged by his firm tone, Ellen had no choice but to scurry behind the vehicle. Even so, she kept casting worried glances back at him. It was a bit absurd to worry about someone who, until moments ago, had been one of her kidnappers.
"Khehehe! Running away is useless. Our God desires the Saintess."
"You must not know, but God is dead."
"What?"
Kang Hyuk shrugged. "Nietzsche said so."
"Nietzsche...? What arrogant bastard is that?"
"An idiot like you doesn't need to know. Anyway, don't expect to walk out of here alive."
Kang Hyuk's voice was ice-cold. He had no intention of conversing with Rector any further. What was the point of talking to a fanatic? He would have a more productive conversation with a monkey.
Bang!
A moment later, fire spat from the muzzle of his revolver.
The clash between Kang Hyuk and Rector had finally begun.
Bang!
The moment the gun fired, a bullet tore through the wind, hurtling straight toward Rector's chest.
Clang!
"Hmph!"
However, the bullet failed to pierce Rector's chest, bouncing off harmlessly. This was the power of Rector's signature ability, Iron Block.
"As long as God protects me, a mere gun cannot leave a single scratch on this body!"
Rector roared and charged at Chugoe like a mad bull, intending to rip his head from his shoulders just as he had done to Red Skull.
"Die!"
Whoosh!
Closing the distance in an instant, Rector swung his right hand directly at Chugoe's head. At this range, there was absolutely no way Chugoe could dodge...!
Shield
Thud!
"W-What?!"
In that split second, a semi-transparent barrier materialized in front of Chugoe, violently deflecting Rector's strike.
M-Magic! Chugoe is a magic user?!
Rector recoiled in sheer shock. Because Chugoe's primary weapon was a gun, Rector had assumed his ability was merely some sort of shooting assistance.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
As Rector retreated to create distance, Chugoe seized the opening and fired again, aiming directly at his chest.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
"Hmph!"
Rector snorted, hardening his body with Iron Block to deflect the bullets once more. Unless it was magic, these measly bullets posed absolutely no threat to him.
Yes...! As long as I watch out for his magic, I can completely ignore these bullets—!
Crack, crack, crack!
"Argh!"
The moment the thought crossed his mind, an agonizing pain flared in his chest, forcing a scream from his throat.
Terrified, Rector looked down at his chest.
It was completely covered in sharp, blade-like shards of ice.
"W-What is this! What's happening?!"
Panicking, Rector desperately tried to claw the ice off with both hands.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Argh! W-Wait!"
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
"Argh! No!"
Chugoe had no intention of standing by and watching. He unleashed a relentless, merciless barrage of gunfire, and within moments, Rector's entire body was completely encased in jagged blades of ice.
"..."
Trapped within the frozen prison, Rector stared at Chugoe with eyes full of despair. But Chugoe didn't even bother to meet his gaze. He slowly walked up to the frozen cultist and aimed his revolver directly at his heart.
Bang!
Shatter...!
"..."
His heart pierced, Rector coughed up a thick glob of blood.
A monster...!
Rector stared at Chugoe, but his final thought never made it past his lips.