Chapter 17
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 17
Chapter Title: The Pretend Hostage
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For someone who'd been kidnapped, her appearance was surprisingly pristine... though splattered in blood, she still looked utterly at peace with the world. Then again, maybe this was exactly what you'd expect.
*It's all just theater.*
More precisely, it was a hostage drama staged to take down the criminals. Of course, it was a reversed hostage drama, with the hostage herself doing the acting.
Yoo A-han stretched her neck this way and that, as if her body felt stiff and sore, then opened her mouth again.
"Did you come with Seung-hyeon Hunter?"
"Yes. He's out there drawing their attention right now."
"Why bother— ...Well, then let's join up."
"Uh, sure."
I followed Yoo A-han as she stepped out the door, and the hallway was a sight to behold.
Blood was splattered mercilessly across the walls, and corpses littered the floor everywhere. It was a nauseating scene that made it look like we were the bad guys.
"I wouldn't have made such a mess if I'd known you were coming, Han Ji-eon."
And the source of that nauseating scene was Yoo A-han herself.
She was an S-Rank Hunter specialized in healing, but healers weren't usually called Hunters. Yet Yoo A-han was classified as a 'Hunter.'
"Is this the entrance?"
She reached the wall and ran her hand over it, letting out a hum before clenching her fist tight.
Boom!
With a light punch, she shattered the wall in one go. The sturdy-looking barrier crumbled like paper, revealing the outside.
"There they are."
Whoosh. A narrow strip of sky-blue fabric materialized, floating lightly around Yoo A-han.
"Shall we join them?"
She smiled brightly, her face smeared with half-wiped bloodstains. The contrast with her round features was a bit eerie, but I nodded nonchalantly.
Hop. Yoo A-han leaped through the hole in the wall and landed by stomping down on the head of an S-Rank illegal Hunter facing off against Seung-hyeon Hunter. She pinned him casually underfoot, but in reality, it was a force that could have smashed him into the ground.
*I should head down too.*
They could've handled it without me—hell, Yoo A-han probably could've done it solo—but with the healer throwing down, it felt wrong to sit this one out. At least, that's how I saw it.
Boom! Yoo A-han stomped lightly again, and this time the floor cracked, sending shards flying up in a shower.
*Getting hit by that would shatter bones.*
Good thing she's a healer—she could probably fix them right up.
Yoo A-han. The reason she was called a healer Hunter instead of just a healer was simple.
She ranked third in Korea's overall ability stats for raw strength. And that was just one of her titles. Plus, her manifested weapon had short range but was freely manipulable, enough to count as its own ability.
Hop. As soon as I jumped through the hole, I grabbed an A-Rank Hunter by the scruff who was trying to slink away and slammed him into the ground. He managed to unleash his power right before impact, slicing a thin line across my cheek, but that was the extent of the damage.
The A-Rank Hunter saw my injury and sensed an opening, charging at me—then whoosh—a purple-tinged thread wrapped around his neck in an instant, and thud, he collapsed to the floor.
"What the...?"
Being A-Rank meant the binding didn't fully restrict him; he could still move freely, but much of his strength was sapped, so he was slow to get back up, and his attacks lacked precision.
"Urk!"
That's why my chokehold knocked him out cold with ease.
I confirmed he was out, unwound the thread from his neck, and went after another A-Rank Hunter. Before long, the last one.
Thud. I glanced at the A-Rank Hunters I'd taken down in short order, then turned at the sudden gust of fierce wind.
*Looks like that's wrapping up over there too.*
S-Rank Hunters didn't go down easy, but even they were human and got tired eventually. Especially against another S-Rank. Actually, this guy wasn't even that.
A massive serpent made of water hissed as it lunged to devour the illegal S-Rank Hunter, the fabric-like snake binding his body. The ground was cratered like a meteor strike, cracked and collapsed in places; thick trees were smashed into the dirt; buildings had crumbled from the impacts.
"Urgh..."
The illegal S-Rank Hunter, one arm torn off, staggered but barely kept his balance. Blood poured from his mouth like his guts were spilling out, and one leg dragged limply.
Seung-hyeon Hunter, meanwhile, looked pristine—immaculate, even—thanks to Yoo A-han's arrival. He probably hadn't taken a scratch to begin with.
Yoo A-han sighed at the illegal S-Rank Hunter, who was barely hanging on, and spoke up.
"Surrender now and put on the cuffs, and I'll reattach your arm and heal you up nice and clean."
He flinched, eyes lighting up with hope as he looked at her.
No Hunter, legal or not, didn't know Yoo A-han. She could heal anything short of a dislocation—a walking hospital. So for him, gravely injured as he was, Seung-hyeon Hunter's offer—her offer—must have sounded like a lifeline.
"...I surrender."
As an S-Rank, he figured they wouldn't kill him anyway if they wanted to use him later, so he declared surrender before his body took more damage.
"Put this on."
Flick. Yoo A-han tossed the item she'd been holding since earlier at the illegal Hunter. Recognizing it, his face flushed red then pale, but he sighed deeply, picked it up with one hand, and snapped it onto his wrist. Click—it locked onto the illegal Hunter's wrist.
"Works great, right?"
It was the power-suppressing handcuff she'd been wearing during her "kidnapping." Probably useless on her.
The illegal Hunter clutched his severed stump and glared at Yoo A-han, but she just stared back with wide, round eyes, utterly emotionless.
"Don't mess around—hurry up...!"
"Ledger."
Seung-hyeon Hunter spoke up in Yoo A-han's place. The illegal Hunter ground his teeth and squeezed his stump harder.
"Silence won't save you."
Step. As Seung-hyeon Hunter took a step forward, plop, plop—fish made of water began appearing. He stopped a step away from the illegal Hunter and continued.
"You know S-Ranks are tough."
"......"
The illegal Hunter just gnashed his teeth in response—no words, no movement. Futile as it was.
Seung-hyeon Hunter exhaled deeply and beckoned with his finger. Some water fish scattered in all directions; others...
"What the...!"
...latched onto the golden earring on the illegal Hunter's ear.
"Gah...! Get off!"
He shook his head side to side, but the fish clung fast—until with a flick of Seung-hyeon Hunter's wrist, they vanished in a snap.
"...Urk!"
The illegal Hunter leaned back unsteadily, then spun and hopped over a fallen tree to flee. Even with the cuffs sealing most of his power, he hadn't lost it entirely; he bolted raggedly, clutching his stump.
"Guild Leader, get him. I'm tired from being cooped up in that strange place too long."
"......"
Seung-hyeon Hunter silently enlarged the water serpent with a flick of his hand. The massive snake shot after the fleeing illegal Hunter.
"I was wondering why this S-Rank was so weak—turns out he's no fighter. More of a tech guy."
"Pardon?"
"If he were a real Hunter, he'd have broken those cuffs ages ago."
He was an S-Rank 'technician'—strong enough for the title, but woefully short on combat prowess for dungeon delving.
I made a puzzled face for a moment before playing it off and speaking up.
"...Am I the weird one for asking this?"
"Pardon?"
"This wasn't a kidnapping, was it?"
A real Hunter would've shattered the cuffs instantly. In other words, Yoo A-han—the real deal Hunter—could've done it anytime.
Yoo A-han smiled, lips curling up. Seung-hyeon Hunter answered for her.
"Sorry for the deception."
"Pardon?"
Then Yoo A-han chimed in.
"An S-Rank doesn't get kidnapped in a one-on-one with another S-Rank. Sure, I'm a healer, but I'm not helpless offensively."
"...Not helpless offensively?"
"I have attacks."
Yoo A-han grinned, stoking my curiosity further, but I just furrowed my brow and stared at her silently. Then I rubbed my neck, sighed, and said,
"Well... honestly, I kinda figured."
"Really?"
"You're a healer Hunter, after all. Being 'captured' seemed off."
In fact, after this, Yoo A-han Hunter never got kidnapped again. Kidnappers occasionally came to her instead.
"You'll make a great Hunter from now on, Han Ji-eon."
"Uh......"
"That's a compliment."
Splash! While Yoo A-han and I talked, the serpent returned, spitting out the illegal Hunter from its mouth along with a gush of water.
"Gack... cough."
Finally able to breathe, the illegal Hunter lay on the ground clutching his stump, gasping.
Seung-hyeon Hunter approached slowly and effortlessly plucked the earring from his ear. He gripped it tight, then released—shards of the broken earring tumbled from his palm.
"No!"
Flash. The shards floated up, forming a ledger. Possible because the earring wasn't inventory but a shape-shifting item.
Seung-hyeon Hunter snatched the ledger, skimmed it, then closed it and glanced at Yoo A-han.
"Got it."
She approached the soaked illegal Hunter and extended her hand; blue light swirled, and his mangled shoulder healed rapidly.
"W-Wait! My arm—my arm?!"
"It's already too mashed and swollen to reattach."
"Bullshit! Give me back my arm—my arm!"
"The bones are pulverized to bits. Give it up."
"My... my arm! Hey, you damned bastards! I'll kill you all!"
The illegal Hunter trembled, propping himself up with one hand. He lunged and grabbed Yoo A-han's collar, shaking her.
"You con artists! Give me back my arm!"
"...Guild Leader's the one who tore it off, not me."
"......!"
Drop. He released Yoo A-han's collar and charged Seung-hyeon Hunter instead, seizing his collar.
"Give it back! Give it back!"
Seung-hyeon Hunter, more expressionless than my brother, let the illegal Hunter shake him without resistance.
Yoo A-han stepped beside Seung-hyeon Hunter, took the ledger, and read slowly before frowning.
"Human trafficking was just the baseline."
She passed the ledger to me and continued.
"Consider this your punishment."
"Shut up and give me back my arm, you demons—"
Crack—frost spread from the illegal Hunter's feet to his crown in an instant, silencing his racket by force.
Smack. Seung-hyeon Hunter lightly swatted away the hand still gripping his collar and straightened his clothes.
"Then let's collect the items from the building rubble and go."
I just nodded at Seung-hyeon Hunter's words, but Yoo A-han stared at him intently without a word.
"...Something to say?"
"Bet. You lost."
"......"
What bet?
Yoo A-han extended her hand, gesturing for something. Seung-hyeon Hunter looked awkwardly at her for a moment.
He pulled a pocket watch from his pocket, opened it, and set the hour hand to eight. A gem like a thorned fruit the size of the watch sparkled into his hand.
"I'll put it to good use."
Yoo A-han took it.
"Uh, what...?"
"We made a bet."
"A bet?"
"Yeah. If you couldn't catch the illegal S-Rank before I joined, you'd give me that S-Rank magic stone from before. If you did, I'd give you something."
"......"
Seung-hyeon Hunter muttered softly beside her.
"You knew I was stalling on purpose."
"A bet's a bet."
I always think this, but they could've cut me in on something like that.