Chapter 103: 1%, A Single Shot
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 103: 1%, A Single Shot
19
“Ah, ahh!”
A short cry burst from my lips.
The sight of Hyeok-seo-hyeong’s head flying off and rolling across the floor ignited a storm of fury in my eyes.
Even so, I held Si-ho tight in my arms.
“Fuck, fuck!”
I was furious.
The curses threatened to spill out endlessly.
But I couldn't afford to waste the opportunity Hyeok-seo-hyeong had created with his suicide.
The moment his neck was severed, the shadow wall behind me had collapsed.
A bullet from Thunderbolt flew.
Zzzzzap!
The fired bullet shattered the outer shadow wall.
The instant I saw it, I kicked off the ground, still holding Si-ho.
Crack!
I broke through the shattered wall and leaped toward the rooftop of the building across from us.
I felt a sense of weightlessness as the wind rushed past my body.
The sky had already begun to glow with the sunset.
Only then did it truly sink in that I had escaped the shadows.
After landing safely on the opposite rooftop, I bit my lip hard enough to draw blood.
Si-ho was still unconscious in my arms.
The shadows, reeling from the shock of Hyeok-seo-hyeong’s death, undulated erratically.
It was as if they were dying along with him.
But Hyeok-seo-hyeong had said that even if he died, a portion of the shadows would still move under Erebos’s control.
I had to keep running.
Just then, I saw it.
The crumbling shadows received Hyeok-seo-hyeong’s body, then lifted his severed head and reattached it.
Pitch-black shadows flowed from the gash in his neck, connecting the two parts.
“That son of a bitch!”
A furious curse erupted from my mouth.
I realized that Erebos was now using even Hyeok-seo-hyeong’s death for his own selfish ends.
[The God of Darkness is watching you.]
At that moment, an alien voice echoed in my mind.
“Keuk!”
Simultaneously, a cough echoed from within the shadows.
Hyeok-seo-hyeong’s eyes shot open as black shadows trickled from his mouth.
His eyes widened in horror as he realized what was happening.
Erebos had forcibly clung to his life, intending to make use of his shadows.
My eyes met Hyeok-seo-hyeong’s.
He looked at the shadows coiling around his body and gave me a sharp glance.
Get out of here.
That’s what his eyes were saying.
The moment I saw it, I started running even faster.
Thud!
I heard the impact of something landing behind me.
It was a monster made of shadows.
The shadow monster, holding Hyeok-seo-hyeong within it like a twisted comfort doll, began to chase me on its six legs, dripping viscous shadows.
I couldn’t believe I was being chased by a shadow monster.
However, the shock of Hyeok-seo-hyeong’s death must have lingered in the shadows, because the creature wasn't that fast.
Erebos couldn't control the shadows with complete freedom either.
Thump!
The monster slammed one of its legs into the ground.
Shadows erupted from the floor, lunging at me.
I quickly shielded Si-ho and rolled across the ground.
“Ugh.”
I let out a groan as I got back to my feet, only to immediately roll again.
Shadows were once again attacking me from the floor.
Shadows are everywhere.
And so, the shadows attacked me relentlessly.
While I was rolling, the shadow monster continued to close the distance between us.
‘Dammit.’
At the same time, shadows rose from all sides, trying to trap me just like before.
If this kept up, I’d be right back where I started.
“Damn it, Erebos, you bastard!”
Just then, Hyeok-seo-hyeong, who had been swallowed by the shadow monster, screamed as if he were coughing up blood.
The shadows that were about to imprison me flinched for a moment, their advance halted.
It seemed Hyeok-seo-hyeong was resisting.
Seeing my chance, I got up and started running again.
But this wasn't a solution.
Even though Hyeok-seo-hyeong had resisted for a moment, the shadow monster was chasing us again.
At this rate, I didn't know if I’d run into the Association’s returnees or Girasung’s first.
Moreover, while I didn't know Erebos's current situation, he had surely shaken off the Association and was on his way here.
Below the buildings, dimensional entities were still running rampant.
In the distance, I could see a few hunters confronting them.
But hunters wouldn't be able to stop this shadow monster.
I had to solve this myself.
“Hyeok-seo-hyeong! Anything! Tell me if there’s a way!”
I didn't have much aura left.
After using it so many times already, I was about to run out completely just from running.
So I yelled at the resurrected Hyeok-seo-hyeong.
“There’s a core inside the shadow!”
As if he had been thinking of a way to resolve this, Hyeok-seo-hyeong answered.
“Before, the core was separate from me, but now it’s connected to me! I’ll expose it for a moment! Can you shoot it?!”
At his shout, I gripped Thunderbolt.
Shooting while running… how hard was that going to be?
But it seemed like the only option I had.
Despite everything, Baeksan had told me I had a talent for shooting.
It wasn't impossible.
“Give me the signal!”
I shouted, loading a Brain Thunder bullet.
It wasn't easy since I had to run while carrying Si-ho, but I had no choice.
“Now!”
The moment the Brain Thunder was loaded, Hyeok-seo-hyeong screamed.
I immediately twisted my body around and aimed the gun.
Screeeech!
A bizarre sound came from the shadow monster as a part of its body split open.
A pulsating mass, like a heart, was visible at its center.
I pulled the trigger instantly.
Zzzzzap!
The fired Brain Thunder bullet erupted in sparks as it collided with the shadow core.
Did I succeed?
The thought had barely crossed my mind when a sharp impact to my side sent me tumbling across the ground.
“Cough, keuk.”
Blood spilled from my mouth, staining the floor. Something inside me felt wrong.
I think I broke a few ribs.
Thankfully, Si-ho was unharmed, as I had shielded her with my body.
What had hit me was none other than a shadow.
When I lifted my head, the shadow core was fine, bearing only a slight wound.
‘My firepower wasn’t enough.’
It was a chance Hyeok-seo-hyeong had barely managed to create.
And my firepower wasn't enough.
I bit down hard on my bloody lip.
Once again, I was forced to confront my own weakness.
Meanwhile, the shadow monster pushed Hyeok-seo-hyeong deeper inside itself.
At the same time, shadows wrapped viciously around his mouth to stop him from speaking.
His eyes met mine.
The bitter regret in Hyeok-seo-hyeong’s eyes forced me back to my feet.
You think I went through all this just to see that look on your face?
“Ptui.”
I spat out a mouthful of blood and clenched my teeth so hard they might shatter.
How many times have I failed in my life?
I just have to do it again.
“Hyeok-seo-hyeong, just one more time.”
I knew it wouldn't be easy, but I said it to him anyway.
He couldn't give me a signal anymore.
But we had hunted raid bosses together countless times in the game, syncing our movements without a single word.
This was just like back then.
Hyeok-seo-hyeong was the tank, and I was the DPS.
When the tank creates an opening, the DPS has to seize it and deal precise damage.
My eyes met Hyeok-seo-hyeong’s again.
I could almost hear his answer in his gaze: Got it.
I gently set Si-ho down.
The shadows couldn't attack Si-ho.
Erebos didn't want her to get hurt.
Besides, the shadows were already unstable from Hyeok-seo-hyeong’s suicide, and he was still resisting.
I didn't know how long that would last, but for now, it wouldn't be easy for them to take Si-ho.
Even now, the shadow monster’s movements were sluggish.
So, the shadows’ first choice would be to kill me, then wait for Erebos to arrive and take Si-ho.
‘And there’s no way in hell I’m letting that happen.’
A glint of madness seemed to flicker in my eyes.
But right now, I didn't care.
Swoosh!
The moment I put Si-ho down, a shadow lunged at me, twice as fast as before.
It had been holding back its more aggressive attacks because I was carrying Si-ho.
The instant I let her go, it sped up, intending to kill me immediately.
The shadow, shaped like an awl, shot forward as if to pierce right through me.
I dodged it with everything I had.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
The shadow chased me, punching holes in the floor.
My broken ribs must have been piercing my lungs, because it was getting hard to breathe.
My side screamed in protest, warning me that my organs were damaged.
I’d wrecked my body from overusing aura before, but this was the second time I’d been this messed up, the first being against Catherine and Kaito.
Still, I suppressed the overwhelming pain and kept dodging the shadows.
The moment I lost focus, my consciousness would shatter.
Just then, the shadow monster began to chase me again.
Just as I thought, it had decided to prioritize killing me over capturing Si-ho.
‘Baeksan.’
An image of Baeksan surfaced in my mind.
Baeksan had always shown me how to use aura directly.
Every time I saw it, it was nothing short of marvelous, and honestly, I had wondered countless times if I could ever do what he did.
「The total amount of aura? Of course it’s fucking important. But listen up, Kang Ha-chan. What’s more important than aura is proficiency. Even if you only have a speck of aura left in your body, if your proficiency is high enough, the total amount becomes meaningless.」
As proof, Baeksan had overwhelmed Eunnamu despite having used up all his aura for the day.
「Aura is like a raw gemstone. At first, it’s just a rock, but if you cut and polish it, it becomes a jewel. The way you’re using it now is no different from just throwing the raw stone.」
The purity of aura has nothing to do with its total volume.
It is something an individual must polish and refine through their own efforts.
In a fight against the strong, what was needed wasn't the amount of aura, but that kind of proficiency.
The amount of aura left in my body was barely 1 percent.
But this 1 percent was the result of Baeksan clearing every single pathway.
It was the purest aura in the world, created within my own body.
If I refined that aura to its absolute limit…
It would become a Brain Thunder bullet with a purity far exceeding a 100 percent output.
Crackle!
My mental energy, refined to its limit, was transferred entirely into the Brain Thunder.
Just this once.
Right now, I had to surpass my limits.
Zzzzzzzzzzzap!
Sparks more intense than ever before erupted from the Brain Thunder.
The sheer force of it tore the sleeve of my dress shirt.
The bullet turned from red to a pure, brilliant white.
I loaded that bullet into Thunderbolt.
Click-clack—
With the sound of metal meeting metal, three shadows converged on me at once.
Watching them, a faint smile traced my lips.
My eyes met Hyeok-seo-hyeong’s.
All those times we synced up in the game were for this very moment.
Crack!
The shadow monster’s core split open.
But the monster, unwilling to be hit again, hunched its body over, trying to hide the core.
But it was pointless.
Swoosh!
A shadow slammed into the spot where I had just been.
But it just hovered there, as if it had lost its target.
My field of vision had already changed.
I was now silhouetted against the setting sun.
Atop the building’s roof.
The monster, which had exposed the shadow core on its back by crouching down…
was foolishly staring straight ahead.
Meanwhile, a girl leaning against the rooftop wall was reaching her hand out to me.
Si-ho had regained consciousness.
From the very beginning, I was just buying time until she woke up.
Looking at the wide-open shadow core, a broad smile spread across my face.
“Hey. Give me back my hyung.”
*
*
And I pulled the trigger.
Paaaaaaang!
The Brain Thunder bullet shot from the muzzle.
It wasn't the explosive roar of the previous shots.
If the Brain Thunders I’d fired until now were like anti-tank rounds…
this was a single shot, like one fired by a sniper.
The bullet flew, shattering all the shadows that rushed to intercept it, and slammed into the shadow core.
My ultimate bullet, refined to its absolute limit…
was more than enough to completely shatter the shadow monster’s core.