Chapter 91
Chapter 91
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 91
Chapter Title: The Saintess for One Person Alone (5)
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Baek Seol-ran, her long white hair whipping in the wind.
True to her moniker of Sword Fairy, her swordsmanship was as beautiful as her appearance.
Whoosh!
But that beauty was rooted with sharp thorns, deeply embedded like roots.
Slash!
Baek Seol-ran's swordplay in slicing through a single thug was nothing short of deadly poison.
A straight line drawn vertically from the thug's head down to his crotch.
Thud.
The man's body, precisely bisected, collapsed limply, piling onto the floor.
Splatter!
Spilling out its insides in abundance.
'Even more impressive than the rumors.'
Kang Woojin inwardly couldn't hold back his admiration as he watched Baek Seol-ran's skill.
She was the vice-guild master of White Night Guild, one of Korea's four great guilds.
'Honestly, I didn't expect her to join the fray.'
She was a character only briefly mentioned a few times in the original game, yet here she was displaying truly remarkable prowess.
In terms of pure swordsmanship, she was a cut or two above Kim Chang-sik, who was also S-Rank.
Kang Woojin, who had never properly learned any martial arts worth mentioning, had no eye for judging swordplay.
Even through the eyes of a novice(?), Baek Seol-ran's swordsmanship exuded an overwhelming presence that made the difference starkly clear.
'Precise and fast.'
She truly danced with a single sword in hand.
A small sword slightly thicker than a rapier.
Wielding the spadroon freely with an impassive face, processing the thugs, her figure emanated the beauty and nobility of a flower on the battlefield.
'Thanks to her, our side's casualties will be minimized.'
Kang Woojin gazed at the unexpected S-Rank ally.
"Looks like the section chief pulled some strings, huh?"
He suddenly pressed his back against Lee Dong-hyun's and spoke.
"Like I said before, nothing's free."
"Of course. Who could doubt it."
Finishing their brief exchange, Kang Woojin thrust his dagger at the thugs charging toward him.
Crack!
Their heads burst open like watermelons.
As if struck not by a sharp blade, but by a blunt weapon.
Having drawn up a massive amount of mana, Kang Woojin turned to his next opponent.
The regional cult leader with body enhancement abilities.
His pure white priestly robes stained red in places, he suddenly swung a fist at Kang Woojin.
Whoosh!
With his exceptional senses, Kang Woojin calmly countered the not-quite-sneak attack without flinching.
Shing!
Thrusting his expensive dagger straight out, Kang Woojin twisted the tip slightly and released his mana.
'Like this?'
His mana coiled around the cult leader's thick arm like a serpent, slicing through in a spiraling whirl.
Swish!
"Gah?!"
Though the man was already covered in wounds, Kang Woojin was utterly relaxed testing his technique against an A-Rank Awakener.
'Harder than I thought.'
Mimicking the Sword Fairy's earlier technique, he swiftly circled behind the cult leader letting out a short scream, seizing the momentary opening to sever his windpipe.
Slice!
Afterward, the unnamed cult leader's hefty body crashed to the floor.
Thud!
The Sword Fairy's completely unexpected appearance.
And while her skill was certainly enough to impress even Kang Woojin, what was truly astonishing was on his side.
'How...'
The Sword Fairy, who had maintained a cold expression throughout, stared at Kang Woojin from afar with rippling eyes.
'...He replicated it after seeing it just once.'
She could hardly believe he had mimicked her swordplay.
It wasn't perfect by any means, but dismissing it as mere imitation would be unfair given the high level.
He was someone who had caught her eye before, but words like "astounding" barely covered it.
At first, it was simple curiosity.
An S-Rank Awakener in a ridiculous mask naturally drew attention.
As the vice-guild master of a major guild, she couldn't help it.
There might even be a chance to recruit him.
Glancing occasionally at Kang Woojin for such reasons, Baek Seol-ran couldn't hide her shock at his beyond-imagination display.
The rising star she'd only heard rumors about possessed far greater talent as a Hunter than she'd imagined.
'Perhaps... just perhaps...'
Not just bolstering the guild's forces, but maybe the very person she'd been desperately searching for.
Someone who could fulfill her unspoken wish. Baek Seol-ran silently watched his back with that thought.
Setting aside her circumstances, Kang Woojin looked down at the flat of his dagger anew.
'Not bad at all.'
The sword An Ji-ho had procured was a sword, but mimicking the Sword Fairy's technique on a whim wasn't half bad either.
Until now, Kang Woojin had relied solely on the power, speed, overwhelming mana, and animalistic senses within his own body.
That alone was enough to handle most foes, but he thought it might not be a bad idea to properly learn swordsmanship now.
His senses were exceptional to begin with, and his ability to see, hear, and feel mana was remarkable.
Not just basic modern swordsmanship, but even mana-wielding sword techniques would come easily to him.
In fact, having just mimicked the Sword Fairy's strike, he sheathed his dagger with a faint smile.
Click.
Just then, Lee Dong-hyun approached.
"Good work out there. Kang Woojin—no, Mr. Genova."
Kang Woojin nodded in response.
"You too, Section Chief. Things seem to be settling down now."
"Yeah. But the Truth Church's cult leader who fled this grand hall, along with remnants of the regional cult branches, are still out there in numbers."
"As for the cult leader's whereabouts, I have a hunch. I've attached a very high-performance tracker."
"Pardon? What do you...?"
"Anyway, I'll leave the cleanup to you."
"Ah, y-yes, sure."
Lee Dong-hyun stammered in reply, then looked at Kang Woojin with renewed surprise.
'A tracker? When the hell did he...'
His abilities truly seemed endless.
"Oh, right."
Kang Woojin, who had started walking away, suddenly spoke up as if something had come to mind.
"Let's think about the aftermath carefully."
With that, he lightly exchanged greetings with the two women approaching him.
Asking if they were hurt anywhere.
Lee Dong-hyun blinked at the sight of Kang Woojin stroking Cynthia and Yoo Harin's heads.
"The aftermath?"
He asked again.
"The Do-won Truth Church. We'll have to figure out how to handle them now that their leadership is gone."
Kang Woojin turned back to Lee Dong-hyun and replied.
"Figure it out later?"
"There are still a lot of believers in the country. You're not planning to root them all out and exterminate them, right?"
"Well..."
"Of course, anyone who participated even once in this filthy ritual or took part in their evil deeds won't escape punishment."
Kang Woojin grinned as he continued explaining.
"Honestly, I think it's better to reform the Do-won Truth Church and make use of it than wipe it out entirely."
"What do you...?"
"To the public who don't know their true nature, it functions perfectly well as a mere religion."
It was the very method the Flame Guild had used to dismantle the Do-won Truth Church in the original story.
There was no need to turn tens or hundreds of thousands of believers into enemies.
"You don't mean to keep this whole incident under wraps?"
"With the entire leadership vanished, we can't hide it completely anyway. We can just spin the story appropriately without shaking their faith."
For example, a traitor emerged within the Truth Church, leading to fratricide.
And that the Hunter Management Bureau, along with various guilds and renowned Awakeners, intervened to mediate and subdue them.
Having planned this far in advance, Kang Woojin whipped up a scenario on the spot.
"No need to rile up believers nationwide and create unnecessary trouble, right? Please explain it well to the Bureau Chief."
Lee Dong-hyun let out a hollow laugh at Kang Woojin's exceedingly polite words.
"Can't be helped. You were the one who uncovered their true nature and called for help in the first place, Mr. Genova. The Chief will respect your decision."
Lee Dong-hyun was amazed by his broad perspective on the bigger picture, and touched by his consideration for the public.
'All the money I've invested here.'
Of course, Kang Woojin's true motives were purely calculated, far from any sense of justice.
'The Do-won Truth Church is mine now.'
This was the moment when Genova's achievements and reputation rose another level in the eyes of those oblivious to the truth.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ Snap!
Leaving the cleanup to Lee Dong-hyun and the others, I raced up the mountain path.
Thud!
About 150 meters left ahead.
Keeping my eyes glued to my smartphone screen, I followed the tracker I'd placed on Ye-eun straight forward.
Whoosh!
Cleaving through the night air, I climbed the mountain higher and higher.
Though my body and mind were exhausted from the successive battles, thoughts of Han Jong-hui waiting ahead gave me renewed strength.
How much time passed like that?
Snap.
I finally stopped in front of a shabby building.
It looked like an old shrine.
Without hesitation, I threw myself toward it and kicked open the sliding door to enter.
Bang!
There, Han Ye-eun—still beautifully made up—turned toward me and her lips moved.
"Who... Ah..."
Recognizing me, she quickly smiled.
Life returned to her once-dead eyes.
I then looked down at Han Jong-hui kneeling at her feet.
"You caught him well."
"Yeah. Just like you told me to, Woojin."
I gently stroked her hair and slowly removed my mask.
"...!"
Han Jong-hui's eyes, looking up at us, trembled widely from side to side.
This was like delivering the killing confirmation to his suspicion that Kang Woojin and Genova were the same person.
"This is the first time we've spoken directly since the regional cult incident."
I casually added more as I stretched my battle-stiffened body.
"Nice to see you, father-in-law."
Han Jong-hui ground his teeth.
No reply came.
"..."
He just glared at me murderously, his mouth flapping uselessly.
"I sealed his mouth."
Han Ye-eun explained, pointing at him.
"Doesn't look like just his mouth."
I chuckled and looked anew at Han Jong-hui's forehead.
Whether she'd made him sincerely apologize or bow repeatedly, his forehead was torn red and bleeding profusely.
"Yeah... I vented a little..."
To call this mere venting— so very Ye-eun-like.
"It's fine. You did well."
I wrapped an arm around Han Ye-eun's shoulders and continued leisurely.
"Let him go now."
The night was long, and time was plentiful.
"Okay."
At my following instruction, Han Ye-eun flicked her hand, releasing the invisible gag over Han Jong-hui's mouth.
She undid the mental control.
Fwoosh!
The very next instant.
"Kill him, Han Ye-eun!"
Han Jong-hui unleashed a massive amount of mana, attempting to brainwash Han Ye-eun.
But.
"..."
"..."
Han Ye-eun and I simply blinked at each other, utterly unfazed.
And then.
Realizing his brainwashing no longer worked on Ye-eun, Han Jong-hui switched targets.
"Subdue Ye-eun!"
His mana-infused voice rode the wind, coiling around my body.
But the same result.
"Th-this can't be."
Seeing us completely unmoved, Han Jong-hui spoke with a shocked expression.
"Wh-what's going on?"
I shrugged lightly.
"Erectile dysfunction in middle-aged men is common. About one in five..."
Reciting Roh Da-ju hyung's line verbatim, Han Jong-hui's face flushed red and blue before he suddenly lunged at me.
Whoosh!
Gripping a small dagger.
Of course, it had no effect on me.
Grab!
I seized Han Jong-hui's wrist and hoisted him high.
"L-let go!"
I kicked his falling dagger up with my instep and swung it back at him as he flailed in midair, repaying the favor.
Splat!
Bright red blood sprayed like a fountain.
"Aaaargh?!"
From his cleanly gouged eyes.
"M-my eyes?!"
Bloody tears streamed down.
I asked the writhing man in a flat voice.
"Where did you hide the cult leader's seal?"