Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: Blood Demon Art (3)
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“...!”
My mind snapped back to clarity.
In my restored vision, I saw blood splattered everywhere and Lizardmen charging at me like mad.
A sense of disconnect washed over me.
Just moments ago, I'd felt like I could slaughter all those Lizardmen, but now my body refused to respond with any strength.
'Aftereffects of the frenzy.'
My legs trembled uncontrollably.
Though Guardian's Will had restored my stamina completely, this was a problem that went beyond mere numbers.
Kyaaak!
As a Lizardman lunged, Kang San hurriedly swung his sword. With a clang, his body was sent flying back unilaterally. In that instant, Kang San was certain. The Blood Demon Art's frenzy had side effects not listed in the 'skill' description. That was why, now that the frenzy's effect had ended, his stats seemed temporarily lowered.
'Trading blows head-on is suicide.'
He made a quick judgment.
For someone barely exceeding average E-Rank stats, there was no way to handle that many Lizardmen in his current state.
Fortunately, time was on his side.
From that point on, Kang San switched to a defensive stance.
He actively utilized the doubled defense effect, buying as much time as possible until the military arrived.
And before long.
"Wipe out all the monsters!"
Capital Defense Force, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Company.
They had finally arrived—the ones Kang San had desperately awaited.
Initial response.
The military's reaction was swift.
The promise of arriving within five minutes wasn't empty talk. The moment they appeared on the scene, the situation resolved itself in an absurdly short time.
"Form a perimeter so the Lizardmen can't escape. Alright, time to slaughter these lizard bastards!"
"Kill 'em all!"
The 2nd Company's captain.
At his command, the soldiers unleashed their anti-monster firearms in unison.
Tudududududu!
Fwoosh, fwoooosh!
The magic weaponry spewed flames.
Machine guns fired powerful mana bullets that pierced even the monsters' tough hides, while flamethrowers melted the Lizardmen's scales with scorching fire. The emergence of Hunters didn't mean soldiers vanished. Those without abilities needed their own ways to survive, and after long research, they'd mastered methods to fight monsters. Of course, high-rank monsters rendered firearms useless, but in situations like this, their guardian forces made the difference.
A massacre.
The Lizardmen were dying off.
Proving that an E-Rank link was no big deal, the creatures that had been slaughtering civilians scattered in panic, tails tucked like fleeing lizards.
A world of the weak devoured by the strong.
Now, they were the weak.
The soldiers, as apex predators, annihilated the Lizardmen in an instant.
"Hoo, hoo."
Kang San exhaled ragged breaths.
The trembling that started in his legs spread throughout his body.
His mind was foggy, and the metallic tang lingered in his parched mouth from biting his cheek raw.
"...What the hell just happened to me."
It was bewildering.
The Blood Demon Art's effect.
This power, which had activated without any explanation, granted him immense strength but left behind profound confusion.
His still-shaking body remembered that moment's sensation. His overall stats hadn't broken E-Rank limits yet, but he'd felt an overwhelming confidence that he could do anything. Indeed, for a brief time, Kang San toyed with the Lizardmen—beast-like dodges evading attacks, precise strikes targeting vitals, felling a whopping ten of them in short order.
He steadied his heaving breaths.
Then the scene before him came into focus.
The foes he'd desperately thrashed against to survive were being wiped out in a blink.
"Is this reality?"
A hollow chuckle escaped him.
It felt empty.
Blood Demon Art.
Even with a demon's power, this was his place in the world.
What a pathetic reality.
The Blood Demon had lived and died on his own terms, yet here he was, a powerless weakling, bearing the man's karma.
'My role here is done.'
He forced himself to stand.
He had no desire to boast about what he'd done.
It wasn't for recognition in the first place.
It was a choice to prove himself.
Though the inexplicable side effect of the Blood Demon Art had occurred, he'd at least found answers to the questions that drove his initial motivation.
And so, Kang San left the scene.
After the battle ended.
The 2nd Company's captain searched for the hero from the CCTV footage.
"Where'd that guy go?"
"No idea, sir."
The battalion commander's orders.
They needed to give him some reward, but scanning the area yielded no sign of Kang San.
In the end, they gave up.
He didn't seem to want a reward anyway, and forcing it on someone who'd slipped away wouldn't make sense.
Besides, they didn't even know his face.
Probably just a brave passerby.
But one person.
One person recognized Kang San's face.
With his scruffy beard and haggard look, it took a moment of doubt at first, but he couldn't miss it.
"That's definitely Mr. Kang San."
The youngest recruit in the Capital Defense Force this time.
Private Kim Chun-sik, age 30.
Kim Chun-sik's enlistment stemmed from multiple reasons.
With his grandmother's surgery successfully completed, he no longer had reason to risk his life for money.
The immediate surgery costs were covered.
Now, he needed a safe, stable income, so after much deliberation, he decided to enlist. As the world changed, the military had phased in a volunteer system, offering salaries better than most office jobs to willing recruits. As the saying goes, a national servant never starves. Plus, with many enlistees lacking abilities entirely, even an F-Rank Arrow Sponge like Kim Chun-sik would be valued for his Hunter experience.
Perfect.
Build a career in the military, use the steady paycheck to cover his grandmother's treatments.
But Kim Chun-sik had a decisive reason too.
'I want to help others like Mr. Kang San.'
Kang San.
What an incredible man.
In a situation where he could have died, he'd thrown himself into danger to save total strangers.
Fuzzy memories from back then surfaced sporadically.
Just thinking of it stirred his emotions.
How could someone make such a bold choice?
Kim Chun-sik wanted to be like Kang San.
He needed the strength to save people in danger like that—and the power to never leave his grandmother alone, no matter what. That conclusion pointed to becoming a soldier. His Hunter talent was so meager he barely had one skill, but honing weapons in the military could make him strong. He believed it.
A firm vow to succeed.
That forged the Kim Chun-sik of today.
Thanks to his recognized Hunter background, he underwent just two weeks of training before assignment to the Capital Defense Force.
And his first real combat.
Kim Chun-sik spotted Kang San instantly.
His weary face and bushy beard felt different from before, but he wasn't one to miss his benefactor.
'But why'd he just leave?'
The story of a passing Hunter stumbling into a link was common enough, happening now and then. Even so, there was no reason to vanish. Helping in a link usually earned rewards, so Kang San's choice baffled him.
If he'd just given his name, they could've tracked him down for recompense.
But Kang San had ghosted like a phantom, and the company captain made a show of looking before quickly giving up.
"Begin cleanup now."
"Yes, sir."
Cleanup.
What a nasty chore.
Hauling bodies and erasing traces—one of the soldiers' grunt tasks.
There were specialists, but as always, soldiers got thrown into everything.
Irked by it, one senior took it out elsewhere.
"That guy who held off the monsters before we arrived. Think he's a criminal? Helped out on impulse, but bolted when his identity might get exposed. Otherwise..."
"Corporal Park."
"Yeah?"
"He's not that kind of person. Don't speak ill of him."
Park Corporal.
In a military with annual promotion exams, this third-year corporal's face twisted at the rebuke from a private.
His words might've crossed a line.
But the critic was a lowly private.
Facing Kim Chun-sik's serious gaze, Park Corporal responded incredulously.
"How can you be so sure?"
"Well..."
Kim Chun-sik hesitated.
He'd spoken up because he hated hearing his benefactor slandered, but he couldn't spill the full story.
'He might not want his name out there.'
Kang San, who vanished like the wind.
There had to be a reason for his choice.
Butting in and blabbing about his benefactor felt disrespectful.
So Kim Chun-sik racked his brain.
For an excuse fitting the moment—one that praised his benefactor without harm.
"Actually, I was trying to get his contact on the company captain's orders. But he said he didn't want his name revealed."
"Why? We're offering a reward—what's to refuse?"
"When incidents like this happen, people fixate on the hero's name and gossip. He didn't want his good deed turned into media fodder. He said to use any reward for the injured victims' treatment instead. Remembering the event and caring for those hurt—that's the greatest reward for him."
'Pretty convincing, huh?'
Kim Chun-sik was surprised at his own eloquence.
He startled himself saying it, but kept a straight, serious face delivering "Kang San's words(?)."
Park Corporal looked sheepish.
If that was true, he'd made a huge blunder.
Accusing a noble hero who'd left quietly of being a criminal.
"If that's the case, I'm really sorry."
Kim Chun-sik's tale.
It would reach the higher-ups soon enough.
They'd want a report on Kang San.
But first.
"Hey, Chun-sik."
"Private Kim Chun-sik!"
"Head down first."
"...Pardon?"
"Pardon? Look at this punk. Thinks 'cause he's 30 and enlisted, I'm a pushover? Fuck, I'm still your senior. Even if that guy's some grand hero, a private mouthing off to his senior? Makes no sense."
"N-no, sir!"
"Then bow."
"Private Kim Chun-sik!"
Kim Chun-sik bowed sharply.
He yearned for a hero's life like Kang San's, but as an ordinary man, his reality remained unforgiving today as ever.