So, What Should I Do With You?
So, what should I do with you?
After losing my parents around age five and becoming an orphan, I never formed deep bonds with anyone. Not even with the other kids at the orphanage who were in the same boat. I didn't open up to the teachers there either. It was because I'd lost the entire world—my parents—in a single day, and I was terrified of losing someone else. Naturally, no one wanted to adopt a standoffish little brat like me, so I spent my days as a voluntary loner until I turned ten.
One day at age ten, a massive black car pulled up to Baekjin Orphanage, where I lived. Even a clueless kid like me could tell it was ridiculously luxurious. Two people stepped out: an adult with white hair and red eyes, and a little kid with the same white hair and red eyes. They were Baek Gonghyeok and his niece, Baek Ji-an.
They'd come to volunteer at the orphanage they sponsored to polish their public image. Bringing along a kid made it look better, so they'd dragged Ji-an with them.
I'd never wanted to connect with anyone, but for some reason, my eyes kept drifting to Ji-an. It wasn't just because her hair was snow-white, her eyes sparkled like jewels, or her face was insanely cute. It was that hunched-shoulder, head-down, staring-at-the-ground posture that felt so damn familiar.
Back then, Ji-an looked just like me at five—grieving for my dead parents and crying my eyes out. So, I approached the kid who'd come to the orphanage with her granduncle for volunteer work but was holed up in a corner, staring at the floor. She looked so pitiful I couldn't just leave her alone.
A kid from an orphanage sponsored by the Baek family pitying the daughter of the family that sponsored it? If the world heard that, they'd laugh their asses off at the absurdity. But I was just a little kid; I didn't know any better.
I crouched down to meet eye level with the squatting Ji-an and asked, "You come here with your dad?"
She sniffled, "U, uwu... Mom and Dad are gone... Th-that guy's my uncle..." tears welling up in her eyes.
I panicked and went all out to console her. I even pulled out my secret weapon—a goofy face—that cracked her up, and just like that, Ji-an and I became friends.
Yeah. Baek Ji-an was the first friend of my life.
※ Thwack!
"Grahk!"
A solid kick to the gut with my instep drew a pained groan from Baek Gonghyeok's mouth. One of Korea's top three hunters, agonizing like this from my kick? It was bullshit, but possible thanks to House Owner Authority (EX-rank).
When an intruder enters, it grants absolute authority over the house space. Thanks to this, I was the strongest in this world inside my home.
Thud! Thud! Thwack!
"Keurk! Guhk! Graaak!"
Every kick elicited a groan from Baek Gonghyeok. I wanted to punch him too, but I had to heal Ji-an with my Healing Body, so no dice. Instead, I kept kicking while holding her in my arms.
Thud! Thud! Thwack!
"Guuk! Cuk! Kerheuk!"
What good is lightning-form physical immunity? I was striking the space itself. I could smack the whole damn space around him—what could he do?
"Gr, urgh! Y-you fucking bastaaard!"
Occasionally, getting pummeled got too much for Baek Gonghyeok, and he'd thrash in rebellion, but it was pointless.
Thud! "Graak!"
Because I'd twisted the space where his limbs were, flinging them back at him. Imagine punching forward only for your fist to loop around via warped space and smash your own skull. Must suck for him, but hilarious to watch.
But I didn't laugh. I was too fucking pissed.
Whoosh—Bam!
I flipped the space to slam Baek Gonghyeok face-down, then planted my ass right on his back.
"Grahk!"
I crushed his back—space and all—so blood sprayed from his mouth with his lungful of air, splattering the floor.
Contaminated material detected.
Safe House Cleaning System activated.
I watched the blood vanish from the floor with a shimmer and opened my mouth.
"Hey, old man. You know my ability, right? Then you know about the Black Box function too. Yeah? That's why you came straight here to kill me and Ji-an without hesitation."
"G-get off me...! I'm the head of the Baek family! A worm like you can't even loo—!"
"Shut it. I'm talking."
"Keuk?!"
I manipulated the space around Baek Gonghyeok's face, forcing his jaw shut.
"I'll give you time to bitch later. For now, just listen."
"Mm, mmmph. Mmph!"
"Anyway, I just watched what you did to my friend via that Black Box function. I even saw how you've treated her all this time."
The Safe House's Black Box recorded five minutes of video before a member's incident. Five minutes wasn't long, but enough to grasp the situation.
"Once I knew, I felt like absolute shit. So now, I'm gonna take it out on you. In hunter terms, it's righteous revenge."
Crack!
"Grrrk!"
I twisted the space, snapping Baek Gonghyeok's left ankle in the wrong direction.
Crackle...
The lightning enveloping his body dispersed, reverting him to flesh. That Lightning Incarnation or whatever ended because his dantian mana ran dry.
The crackling was annoying, but good riddance. Now, aside from his muffled groans, it was quiet. Perfect for what I wanted to say.
Crack!
"Grrghk!"
I twisted space again, shattering his left knee, and continued.
"This girl, Ji-an. Ever since she was little, she'd make this 'home sweet home' face whenever she saw me. Felt good knowing I was someone she could rely on."
Snap!
"Guwuk!"
His right ankle twisted with a crisp joint-pop.
"Seeing that gave me a goal: to always be a safe nest she could return to without worry."
Crunch!
"Grrrwuk!"
All his left fingers snapped backward.
"Even after she awakened and the gap between us widened, that goal never changed. Every time we met, she'd give me that same comfy look from when she was a kid."
Crack! Pop! Snap!
"Grrrrk!"
His left wrist, elbow, and shoulder twisted and broke.
"Baek Ji-an, the S-rank hunter shaking Korea and the world—her one reliable friend. That was me, and it was my greatest pride."
Crunch!
"Grruwuk!"
All his right fingers shattered.
"But turns out, I was a hostage? From the day we became friends fifteen years ago, right up to now."
Crack!
"Grrrr!"
His right wrist mangled and exploded.
"I thought I was her one safe friend and was thrilled. But Ji-an here had a leash around her neck because of me, living in agony the whole time."
Grind! Crack!
"Gr, uugh—!"
His entire right arm twisted like wrung laundry into rags.
"My lifelong pride turned to trash not worth recycling in an instant."
I looked down at Baek Gonghyeok, limbs bent impossibly, body shuddering in pain.
"You used me as a hostage to leash Ji-an, even tried to kill me in the end. And you turned my greatest pride to garbage."
I released the space clamping his jaw and asked, "So, what should I do with you? Guess right, and there's a prize."
Gasping in pain, Baek Gonghyeok spat, "Gr, grruk... I-I'm the head of the Baek family! Baek Gonghyeok! Leader of the nation's biggest guild!"
It was a desperate howl.
"Hah, hah. Can you handle it? The fallout from a trash like you killing me!"
He seemed to think he couldn't die as the current Baek family head's proxy. I pondered briefly, then replied.
"Hmm, yeah. I won't kill you. No plans to."
His face lit up momentarily, then darkened to ashen gray.
"Killing you would end it too quick. I've got too much pent up."
Thud.
I placed my hand on his back—right over his heart.
"Wh-what the fuck are you—"
"Said I'd give a prize for the right answer? This is it. Special prize: 'Two Months Ago Kang Jinseong Lifetime Experience Ticket'."
"W-wait! Stop! Nooooo!"
"Haha, fuck off."
Boom!
The spatial force from my palm surged into his back, straight to his heart.
Grind—!
His mana dantian screamed under the spatial twist.
Crunch!
Like a sandcastle crumbling, Baek Gonghyeok's mana dantian shattered to pieces. The Baek family's proxy head, S-rank hunter Dragon Lord Baek Gonghyeok, could no longer use mana. He was mana-crippled.
'Wh-what the...'
Yoo Seo-ah, who'd witnessed Kang Jinseong's full-course ass-kicking of Baek Gonghyeok live, covered her mouth in shock.
'He really crippled the Dragon Lord...!'
As an A-rank hunter, she knew exactly what he'd done. He'd crippled the Baek family's de facto head.
Hunters were a guild's core power, and S-ranks symbolized national-transcending might. The Three Great Guilds earned their name with S-ranks; Baekga's strength came from three (one in secluded training for twenty years).
Kang Jinseong had mana-crippled one—the proxy head Dragon Lord—shattering the Three Guilds' balance.
She couldn't even guess the fallout.
'...Eh, but it'll probably be fine. The Baekga's only current S-rank, Dragon Dormant Lord Baek Ji-an, is on Jinseong's side. What can they do? No need to worry.'
She decided not to fret over hypotheticals. If shit hit the fan, she'd protect him herself.
With the immediate crisis past, Yoo Seo-ah turned to what really bugged her.
'But that Black Box footage of the Dragon Dormant Lord earlier, and what Jinseong just said to Baek Gonghyeok... they seem awfully close...'
She swallowed dryly, eyeing Kang Jinseong cradling Baek Ji-an tenderly.
The more she looked, the more a wild thought struck her. Her blue eyes trembled as she thought:
'C-could they be... lovers?!'
Yoo Seo-ah's greatest crisis in 24 years...!