Chapter 29
Not all newcomers fumble around clumsily.
Park Hangu, the villain tasked with monster hunting for material procurement and guarding the awakening agent manufacturing facility. Not affiliated with any organization, more like a freelance villain. When he first spotted the intruder, he could have ambushed her—but he didn't. The reason was simple. She reeked of total newbie from a mile away.
Her scouting was so pathetic it made him sigh, the kind of sloppy performance that made him want to grab her and teach her a thing or two. Not an Association agent, not a professional villain hunter—just some rookie who'd stumbled upon the facility by dumb luck. Her vibe, her form, everything screamed amateur, so he thought, Ambush? Why bother?
He was getting bored of petty scraps with monsters anyway. Eager to stretch his legs, he opted for a direct challenge instead of a sneak attack. In the end, though—What the hell is this girl? She swings at people without a second thought?!—Park Hangu realized his mistake quicker than he'd like.
He couldn't help but panic. Her clumsy scouting, her rookie aura—it all screamed "how the hell did she even find this place?" But when she swung her blade at a person, there was zero hesitation. This wasn't about raw strength or anything like that.
In modern society, with its ingrained morals and social conditioning, anyone would hesitate to attack another human. Unless you're born aggressive, or like Park Hangu, incapable of empathizing with others' pain, or a psycho who gets off on suffering—most people freeze up. Even in war, soldiers hesitate on the trigger. That's why rigorous training overrides thought, making the body act first. Unless you're the type who can't pull the trigger no matter what.
And his opponent clearly wasn't that type. Trained for this? If so, there was only one conclusion: she'd been drilled to fight humans without flinching. Park Hangu clicked his tongue at the headache that implied. Her moves aren't ordinary. Who the hell is she? Any halberd-wielding hunters out there mentoring someone like this?
If things went south, her master might come hunting for revenge. Whoever it is, raising a hunter this good means they're no pushover. Fuck!
Win or lose, it was trouble. Park Hangu spat curses as he cursed the Hunter Association's aggressive anti-corruption crackdown—he should've bailed then, but greed for pocket change had tangled him up. He planned to wrap this job and vanish to Southeast Asia for a while. But today, he'd met his match.
Part of him thought, Just kill her and run—no need for grudges. But that wasn't easy. The strength of this woman he'd underestimated sent chills down his spine. Something felt off. Snapping to his senses amid the growing dread, Park Hangu belatedly recognized his foe.
"Cha Yaeun the Deceiver…!"
He'd dismissed the media hype as exaggeration, but apparently not.
"Ugh! Who's calling me a deceiver?!"
Cha Yaeun snapped back in fury at his outburst, her attacks gaining real power. Normally, excitement was poison in combat—hence provoking enemies on purpose. Park Hangu had done it himself, goading foes with words. But this time, it was pure instinct, a slip of the tongue that hit her nerve.
Perfect. Killing her felt iffy, but letting her go wasn't an option. He'd counter, knock her out, dump her, and bolt. Revving his hardening skill to diamond levels across his body, Park Hangu charged into her emotionally charged strikes, planning to block and follow up to knock her unconscious.
But that was a miscalculation.
His horizontal fist swing, aimed to shatter her vertical halberd slash, sliced empty air.
"What—?!"
Cha Yaeun had halted her attack just before impact. His whiff threw Park Hangu off-balance, staggering him. Then the paused halberd came crashing down anew.
Defeat flashed across his face, but Doesn't matter. No way that half-hearted swing packs real power. Not enough distance for weight. He trusted a speed- and force-lacking blow couldn't hurt him much.
That confidence shattered under an unimaginable impact from a halberd that had stopped mid-swing.
"Gahk…!"
His hardened skin cracked, blood gushing. A gash from shoulder to chest.
I got baited into that attack…
Pretending to rage while pulling this insane feint. Stumbling back to create distance, Park Hangu growled.
"You really live up to the nickname…!"
He'd taken a solid hit. A rookie pulling off fakes like that? Deceiver fit perfectly. Whoever trained her deserved props.
Park Hangu, an unregistered awakener who'd never taken a formal rank test, figured his real-world experience put him at high C-rank, maybe B on the cusp. Yet here he was, eating dirt from a fresh C-rank upstart.
Goddamn it…
He should've stuck to plan A. With things heating up, he'd overthought the fallout.
"No more playing nice."
Spitting blood-mixed saliva—thwack!—he hardened the wound shut. That strike could've killed lesser foes. Hitting it without hesitation meant she was ready for murder.
She was a warrior. A cunning one who tricked enemies.
"Coming for real now."
No time for games—Park Hangu locked eyes with killing intent. Cha Yaeun, faced with that glare, muttered awkwardly, "You shouldn't get too worked up."
"Lame taunt—"
He scoffed, but her follow-up froze him solid.
"Get your blood pumping too fast, and the poison spreads quicker."
"What? Poison? What bullshit—!"
His heart lurched; vision blurred. His philtrum grew wet. Wiping reflexively, black, dead blood smeared his hand.
No lie.
"Real poison…?!"
The halberd blade was coated. Feeling his condition plummet, Park Hangu broke into cold sweat.
What kind of bitch is this?!
He glared daggers; Cha Yaeun shrugged, halberd still aimed.
"Hunters use traps and poison on prey. What's the problem?"
Her nonchalant tone—we're no knights, this ain't a fair duel—left him speechless. Not wrong. Villains used poison, took hostages. No law said hunters couldn't poison villains.
But… her ruthless edge clashed with her innocent looks and vibe. A classic melee fighter pulling tricky poison plays? Unreal.
His eyes screamed, How low can you go? No pride?
Cha Yaeun stood tall. In Lebalheonda, Kim Min wielded a poison-infused artifact dagger—a keepsake turning porter rags to riches, his mainstay weapon. Aspiring to Kim Min, seeking Lebalheonda's wisdom, of course she'd poison her halberd.
Imitate the good stuff. And she wasn't wrong. Hunters fought villains and monsters—poison was fair game.
Other hunters avoided it not from honor, but practicality: strong monsters resisted most toxins; top-tier venom was a handling nightmare, restricted even for groups. Rookies used it briefly before forced retirement—not avoidance.
Park Hangu, who'd poisoned hunters himself, had no ground to complain. Still… infuriating.
That airhead act's probably fake too. Lulling foes into complacency.
Misjudging her glare, he snarled, "Snake bitch."
From his view, fair call. That webnovel interview bullshit? All calculated.
Fog clearing: Got strong from a novel? What a load of crap! Mindset didn't come from books. Not a good mentor—born killer. Deceiving everyone. Worse than a villain. No way a novel taught her to fight humans hesitation-free.
Impossible for most. But for Cha Yaeun, Lebalheonda was gospel. Author a god, Kim Min his angel, the novel scripture. Kill first, guilt later—like Kim Min.
That sparked illusions of her hiding her nature, but irrelevant now.
"I surrender. I surrender."
Figuring prolonged fight meant worse, Park Hangu dropped stance. Poison sealed his fate. Pushing through could kill him. Better jail time than death. Arms up, he feigned defeat.
"Just hired help—no loyalty to die for. I surrender, so give me the antidote."
Cha Yaeun stayed wary, cuffing him with mana-core restraints for awakeners. He sat compliantly, awaiting Association pickup.
Watching him, Cha Yaeun smiled in triumph—pure, innocent. Park Hangu shivered.
If that's acting, it's creepy. If innate… she's a monster.
Congenital was better; a trainer forging that was terrifying.
Time to quit villainy.
Bowing to true madness. Better vanish quietly before crossing paths again.
Of course, Park Hangu never got that chance. A decade in prison before retirement? Nah—his real suffering was just beginning.