Chapter 595: Encounter (2)
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 595: Encounter (2)
The sense of loss from having something precious stolen overnight is indescribably immense.
Especially if that something was your entire life.
For Jincheon, that something was martial arts.
A path he had walked his entire life, honing his skills since childhood, yet a path whose end was still nowhere in sight.
The despair he felt when his arms vanished at the hands of the unknown being summoned by Kim Do-jin stemmed entirely from this.
He couldn't care less about the countless things he could no longer do without his arms.
Only one thought occupied his mind.
‘My body can no longer practice martial arts.’
The fact that he could never again throw a punch like he used to was the only thing that remained, tormenting him.
‘If I lose even my martial arts, what is left of me…?’
Born in a small village in Sichuan, China, he was torn from his parents by Public Security agents on his seventh birthday.
All for the simple reason that he showed a talent for martial arts at a small dojo.
From that day on, he endured grueling training, abysmal treatment, and indoctrination that bordered on brainwashing, surviving one day at a time.
He did it to follow his parents’ desperate screams as he was dragged away by the agents, begging him to survive no matter what.
In those days, he hated his talent.
‘If only I hadn't been talented…’
He wouldn't have been separated from his parents, and he wouldn't have had to struggle to survive in this miserable pigsty.
That thought deepened when he met a certain boy.
-“Hahaha! Look, isn't he magnificent?! This child is a national treasure, a treasure!”
He watched a boy his age standing proudly, receiving praise from dignitaries he himself wouldn't dare to look at, and he realized.
His true sin wasn't simply having talent, but having a ‘mediocre’ one.
The boy with ‘brilliant’ talent had become a treasure, while he was nothing more than a ‘weapon’ to be used and discarded.
He was envious.
Unbearably so.
Then, a voice whispered in his ear.
-“Be endlessly jealous. And take what you desire.”
He, too, had gained something.
A weapon that could stand up to the boy with brilliant talent.
The power to fill his own deficiencies with what belonged to others, making himself whole.
Through this, he grew ceaselessly.
Ordinarily, he was an ascetic who worshipped martial arts.
But before those who showed a glimmer of brilliant talent, he became a vile usurper of jealousy.
That was how he had honed his skills.
A power gained by throwing thousands, tens of thousands of punches from the beginning of the day to its end.
A power gained by ruthlessly snapping and trampling countless flowers that had yet to bloom.
That was why he wavered.
‘If that prosthetic arm is truly as she says…’
If it truly had sensation and moved according to his will, no different from a real arm.
Then the martial arts he had lost would return to his grasp.
No, perhaps he would become even stronger.
“If you don’t believe me, just try it on. It won’t be too late to decide after that, will it?”
The sweet temptation guided his body.
He dragged his emaciated legs, devoid of fat and muscle, to the case containing the prosthetic arm and bent his upper body.
The silver cross-section of the prosthetic arm attached itself to his cleanly severed shoulder.
Shunk!
“Keoheok…!”
Jincheon let out a pained gasp at the sensation of cold metal piercing his skin without hesitation.
He could feel it.
The sensations that had been absent below his shoulder.
“H-How can this be…”
A vivid feeling, as if he had regained his original arm, flowed through the limb.
He could feel it.
The touch of the cold floor against his palm.
Even minute sensations, like the flow of the chilly air around him, were all vivid.
More so than when he had his real arm.
But he didn't know yet.
No matter how real the sensation, if the arm didn't move according to his will, it was ultimately useless.
He stood up and asked her in a slightly more polite tone.
“…I would like to move my body for a moment.”
She readily agreed.
“By all means. But I can’t leave the room, so I hope you understand.”
“That doesn’t matter.”
That much was fine.
It wasn't as if he planned to seriously train his martial arts anyway.
“Hoo.”
With a trembling heart, he took his opening stance.
And lightly threw a punch.
Whoosh!
Boom!
The fist shot out, tearing through the air, and exploded with force at its apex.
Seeing this, Jincheon’s eyes widened as if they would tear.
“How is this…?”
How could a light punch, uninfused with mana, contain such power?
Han Ju-hee explained to the astonished man.
“We maximized the mana output to suit an S-rank Hunter’s prosthetic. I can’t be certain, but it should be able to exert at least twice the power of your real arm.”
“Is that so…”
With just one punch, he felt an immense thrill.
His martial arts had returned.
No, they had returned even stronger.
His confidence, which had hit rock bottom, began to rapidly surge.
‘With this fist, I might be able to test my mettle against that summoned beast he called forth.’
It was a colossal being, but not an unbeatable one.
It had a structural weakness, not in its existence itself, but in the fact that it was summoned by human hands.
It was still formidable, but in his current state, he felt he could put up a fight.
That made him curious.
Even if his body was weakened, for her to so readily attach such an arm to him…
So he asked her.
“…Did you not consider that I might harm you two with this arm?”
She replied with a smile.
“I’ve installed a little safety feature. I’d rather not be killed by something I created.”
His face hardened slightly.
“A feature?”
“I’ve made it so the output is forcibly restricted if the fist is aimed at me or Mr. Kim Do-jin.”
“……”
“For your reference, that restriction can never be removed by anyone other than me or Mr. Kim Do-jin.”
Hearing this, Jincheon’s face soured.
Her words meant that he could no longer cause any harm to the two of them.
“…Wearing the prosthetic was a trap from the start.”
They had known.
The moment he put on the arm and got a taste of it, he would never be able to cast it aside.
And their ploy had hit the mark perfectly.
It would have been different if he had never known, but now that he did, he had no choice but to accept this arm.
Therefore, all he could do now was ask.
“…Kim Do-jin is an enemy who has interfered with our work countless times.”
“Yes, I’m well aware.”
“And yet you trust him? One wrong move and you could be in danger as well.”
“That is…”
It was a problem she had also contemplated.
Whether mediating between Kim Do-jin and the organization was truly the best course of action.
Then she saw it.
She saw the desire in his eyes, the ambition to push aside even the organization at the end of his plan and take everything for himself.
That was enough.
As long as she could reach that end, she didn't care what anyone did afterward.
“He is a trustworthy person. Once he takes a hand, he will never be the first to let go.”
Of course, the hand he’s holding is mine, not the organization’s, she thought.
“I guarantee it.”
Hiding this, she finished her sentence.
*
The plan proceeded as expected.
From the moment I created a prosthetic arm superior to a real one, the game was already over.
How did I know?
Because I would have done the same.
You’ve trained with the sword your whole life, then you lose both arms, and someone offers you a prosthetic that’s more real than the real thing?
How could anyone resist that?
Besides, the situation was what it was.
An opportunity to get rid of an enemy who interfered at every turn and gain a powerful ally.
And there was even someone to vouch for him.
He must have thought it was a deal where he couldn't possibly lose.
Well, he wasn't wrong.
“…At least for now, that is.”
After the negotiations concluded, Jincheon was released.
A few days later, news articles flooded in.
【Escaped Villain Dies After Fierce Battle During Arrest.】
A battle had broken out while pursuing the escaped villain, and he had died in the process.
This was the cleanest way to handle it.
We couldn't imprison Jincheon again, and since things had turned out this way, faking his death and letting him go was better in many respects.
Thanks to this, the Ministry of Land Protection, which had been on the brink of collapse, regained some of its prestige.
Not like before, but enough to allow for moderate growth.
The organization’s plan to gradually take over the government was back in motion.
And a few days later.
A message came from Han Ju-hee.
It told me to come to the Magic Tower at midnight, avoiding prying eyes.
The moment I saw the message, I knew.
“Is it finally starting?”
The day had finally come to face them.
With a fluttering heart, I got ready to leave.
Just then, Shin Yu-jeong, who had fallen asleep on my mattress after a round of sex, rubbed her eyes and sat up.
“Hey… where are you going at this time of night…?”
“Just meeting someone for a bit.”
At that, her face scrunched up.
“What bitch is it this time?”
“…It’s not a woman.”
Probably.
“If it’s not a woman… then, have a good time.”
Hearing it wasn't a woman, she instantly let her guard down and collapsed back onto the mattress.
Before long, the sound of her soft, purring breaths filled the room.
“…Seriously?”
What a marvelous creature.
I let out a wry smile and carefully opened the door so as not to wake her, then left the house.
“Nice weather.”
A clear night sky without a single cloud.
I cast an invisibility spell to hide myself, then flew through the sky and landed on top of the Magic Tower, squeezing through the window Han Ju-hee had left open.
“Welcome.”
Han Ju-hee greeted me, sitting at her desk.
She stood up.
“You’ve arrived at the perfect time.”
I noticed the interior was different from usual.
Six giant screens were set up in front of the desk where she worked.
Looks like they plan to show themselves there…
“I guess I can’t meet them in person?”
“Everyone has their own duties, so it’s difficult for them to leave their posts.”
“Ah.”
I see, they’re busy with their under-the-table operations in their respective countries.
She pointed to the chair she had just been sitting in.
“Go ahead and sit. The meeting will begin shortly.”
“Alright.”
I sat down on the chair, which still held the warmth of another person.
Only one minute remained until midnight.
The moment the hour and minute hands of the clock on the wall pointed exactly to 12.
Woooong—
Darkness filled the transparent, glass-like screens that had been showing the other side of the room.
One by one, figures appeared, each against a dark background.
“Oh my♥ Has such a cute, fresh-faced boy been the one tormenting us all this time?”
A woman in a low-cut dress.
“Hah, look at the fucking confidence on this bastard's face. Makes me want to crush it.”
A massive man who looked like he was wearing armor made of thick muscle.
“……”
The shadow bastard I beat the shit out of who barely escaped with his life.
“Hmph.”
The guy whose arm I cut off.
“M-my, you look… delicious…”
A pig, smacking its lips as it looked at me.
“Everyone, calm down. Shouldn't we at least hear him out?”
A handsome young man with brilliant blond hair and piercing blue eyes.
Looking at the unique cast of characters, who didn't share a single resemblance to one another…
“…What a fucking mess.”
Whoops.
I only meant to think that, but it came out of my mouth.