Chapter 3—16. The Void Wears a Mask, and Vanity Takes It Off (1)
Everything had flowed exactly as planned, from the very beginning all the way to this point.
Thanks to what Kang Tae-san had told him in his previous life, Lee Jun already knew the bastard could distort his body and use it as a weapon in combat.
It was his signature ability, after all—no way he couldn't smash through a wall made of reinforcement material.
Which meant Lee Jun would be thrown into the auction house's supply room.
And the supply room was… absolutely overflowing with the Falsehood Predator.
'I didn't expect him to stab me through the heart there, though.'
He'd twisted the path with Silhouette's shadows to cover that part.
Since she resided in his heart to begin with, he'd been able to manage it without drawing too much attention.
The missing blood volume… he'd substituted with shadow.
In that situation, no one would have been in any state to care what color the blood was, so it didn't matter.
The only real problem was… that bastard had been stronger than expected.
Which was why he'd gotten beaten a bit harder than necessary.
"Son of a…."
Wounds covered his entire body, along with the final stab through his chest. It hadn't reached his heart, but it was still a critical injury. He'd taken the hits as much as he could to sell the act… but honestly, it had pushed past the limit of what he could endure.
"Haah… haah…."
Gasping for breath, Lee Jun headed out of the supply room. As he staggered along, his vision gradually clouding, a familiar face came into view through the haze.
"Haha… what the, you're okay…."
Thud—
Perhaps the sudden release of tension had simply caught up with him.
Lee Jun collapsed then and there, consciousness fading.
The person across from him rushed over in a panic.
Her own steps just as unsteady.
Bursting into the tears she'd been holding back, she gathered him up in her arms where he lay on the floor.
"Boss… Boss…."
Her heart ached.
It was agony.
She was supposed to have been of help to him.
She'd known from the start that she wasn't enough for that—but facing the situation like this was another matter entirely.
Now she understood, clearly and without question.
That she was utterly useless.
"B-blood."
But what did any of that matter right now?
Checking his condition came first. She sank down beside the fallen Lee Jun and examined his wounds. The most urgent need was to stop the bleeding. She pulled off her suit jacket, pressed it against his chest, and bore down hard.
Even as tears streamed down her face, Choi Jeong-hyeon did everything she could to staunch the wounds.
"I'm sorry… I couldn't do anything…."
Her falling tears traced down Lee Jun's cheek.
Perhaps because she'd only just realized she was crying—seeing it made the tears well up even faster.
Still, Choi Jeong-hyeon desperately fought back her sobs and murmured,
"First… first we need to get somewhere safe…."
She rose to move him.
There was no time or capacity to grasp the situation—getting Lee Jun to safety had to come before everything else.
"Ngh…."
But she failed to stand and sank right back down.
Her legs had given out.
She, too, had reached her limit. Her body's wounds had mostly healed, but the accumulated pain and damage had not.
"Damn it, damn it…."
Her consciousness was slipping.
And then.
"Truly beyond expectations. Impressive."
"…!"
Choi Jeong-hyeon whipped around at the voice behind her. Standing there was an unfamiliar girl. A robe painted with strange patterns. Suspicious at a glance.
"Wh-who are you?!"
Choi Jeong-hyeon hauled herself to her feet. Moments ago she hadn't even been able to put weight on her legs, yet somehow she stood now, stretching both arms out to block the girl's path.
All she could do right now… was buy time.
"…."
But none of the worst-case scenarios Choi Jeong-hyeon had imagined came to pass.
The robed girl simply watched her with interest.
"Hmm."
Whatever thoughts were running through Choi Jeong-hyeon's head, the girl didn't much care. Her interest lay solely in this situation—right here, right now.
"Oh?"
The girl looked at the arms Choi Jeong-hyeon had stretched out. One was a prosthetic. She'd considered cutting off the remaining one too, but seeing the fingertips trembling, a different thought occurred to her.
This one's terrified.
"You're trembling."
"…."
"Scared?"
Choi Jeong-hyeon didn't answer. She simply glared at her in silence. That reaction only sharpened the girl's interest.
"Would you die for that person?"
"Yes."
"Hmhm."
Choi Jeong-hyeon answered without a moment's hesitation. At that reply, the girl made a curious little sound. Still, she took no action.
By this point, Choi Jeong-hyeon was thoroughly confused.
What was she thinking?
Should she attack first?
But the thought that she could win in her current state… didn't come at all.
The girl's reactions weren't particularly hostile—maybe it was better not to provoke her and just stay put.
And then.
The girl spoke again.
"Bonds—I don't believe in them."
She didn't believe in bonds.
Liberation, after all, was a collective bound together under a single goal by nothing but mutual interest. The girl despised pretty-sounding words like bond.
"But I am curious."
And so she wondered.
How true was that heart of hers?
"I'll kill just one, and then leave."
"…."
"Which?"
At the girl's words, Choi Jeong-hyeon gave no answer. She only squeezed her eyes shut, arms still outstretched, barring the girl's way.
"Oh-ho."
A brief reaction. Then the girl raised one hand.
"I keep my promises."
Crackle—
Mana began to condense in the girl's palm.
"…!"
Despite the ominous sensation, Choi Jeong-hyeon didn't open her eyes. She simply stood there, arms spread wide. There was no guarantee that thing would keep her promise… but if it came to a fight, she'd die either way.
In that case… this was the better option.
"Ngh…!"
Bzzzt—
Blue lightning struck Choi Jeong-hyeon's body directly. Her body slumped to the floor without resistance.
Watching her genuinely take the hit without dodging, the girl let out a short breath of admiration.
"Oo."
That had been nothing but a simple paralysis skill.
She'd never intended to kill her in the first place. She'd merely wanted to see the reaction.
Only, Choi Jeong-hyeon must already have been at her limit—this much was enough to knock her out.
And yet she managed to hold on and stay standing through all that.
What was even more astonishing was that in the moment before losing consciousness, she had wrapped herself around Lee Jun.
Determination to shield him with her own body even after falling?
Well, it wouldn't help much, but the fact that she was capable of going that far was remarkable.
"Hmm."
Why didn't I want to kill her?
Who could say.
Even she herself didn't know.
"…."
And then the girl turned her gaze toward where Kaufman had fallen.
He hadn't died either. Tenacious, if you could call it that.
"Retrieval… not needed, they said."
Following the voice at her ear, the girl left Kaufman where he lay and vanished.
Like a hologram.
Scattered into thin air, the girl left no trace anywhere to be found.
The corridor where the girl had vanished.
Inside the supply room across the way, past the collapsed wall, someone rose to their feet.
"GRAAAAAGH! You… you son of a biiiiitch…!"
A man covered in severe burns across his entire body, one ankle missing—it was Kaufman.
"You little bastard… where aaaaare you!"
Heedless of the flooding pain, he scanned his surroundings. For one purpose only: finding Lee Jun.
Determined to kill him no matter what, Kaufman struggled desperately.
"This time I'll punch a hole through your heart myself! You goddamn bastard…!"
And the moment he spotted the two figures beyond the ruined wall—
a frigid voice sounded at his ear.
"Watch your mouth."
Shff—
"GUHAAAAAH!"
Crash—
With even his remaining ankle severed, Kaufman rolled across the floor. Every part of him that touched the ground sent waves of searing pain through him. The burns were simply that severe.
"Argh…! Who aaaaare you!"
The face he saw when he lifted his head… was familiar.
The person he'd watched disguise herself over and over again today. Black hair, black eyes.
It was Seo Yoon.
"You…."
Shunk—
"Gahk…!"
Without any reply, Seo Yoon dropped to one knee and drove her dagger into Kaufman's throat. She looked down at him with eyes full of contempt.
Within those eyes, killing intent and fury rippled.
"What was that? A hole in the heart, you said?"
Thud—
Thud— thud— thud—
Face utterly blank, Seo Yoon stabbed his chest, and stabbed it again. Until his breath stopped. She continued carving into Kaufman, over and over.
"Do you even understand… what you dared to do?"
Thump—
The moment his life was fully extinguished, Seo Yoon kicked the corpse away and headed for Lee Jun. There, Choi Jeong-hyeon lay fallen, still holding him in her arms.
"…."
She checked both their vitals. For the moment, both were safe… well, not exactly safe, but alive. Lee Jun's breathing was faint, but it was gradually steadying.
"Thank goodness… you're alive."
She murmured those words as she gently stroked Lee Jun's face.
And the way she looked… appeared profoundly, heartbreakingly sad.
The incident had more or less been wrapped up.
No one had died, and aside from a few people at the auction house showing symptoms of mana intoxication, there were no notable injuries.
Never mind that Lee Jun was once again nursing his wounds in a hospital bed.
"You were discharged how long ago, and you're back in the hospital already?"
"Tell me about it."
Lee Jun gave a hollow laugh as he looked at Go Seok-gu, who'd come to visit. Fair enough—it had been barely a month since the last gate raid, and here he was again.
Still, Lee Jun was doing comparatively well. Choi Jeong-hyeon, hospitalized in the bed right beside his two-person room, had needed eighteen days after her discharge before.
"Eugh, well, at least you woke up within a day this time."
"Somehow my recovery was faster this round. Maybe my durability went up a bit."
"That's what you're going to say, you brat?"
Even so, Go Seok-gu was relieved. The injuries had been far more serious than last time, yet the recovery was remarkably fast.
No—he'd already been substantially healed by the time he was transported to the hospital. That alone put Go Seok-gu at ease. If something happened to this kid, it would be a disaster in a dozen different ways.
And as things stood, it was already more than enough of a disaster.
He spoke carefully to Lee Jun.
"…About that—give the Chief of Technology a call, would you."
"Sorry? Why?"
"Seems like she's been beating herself up over this whole thing. You know, the network breach. It's really gotten to her."
Ah, because of that.
Come to think of it, that made sense for the Chief of Technology. She had such confidence in her own craft—failing to detect it entirely must have been quite the shock.
Granted, when the entire space was displaced out of reality, there was nothing she could have done… but knowing something and feeling it are different matters.
I'll have to console her later.
"I'll handle it. I'll talk to her properly."
"Good. You do that. Got it? I mean it."
"Ah—yes, sir."
Go Seok-gu's reaction carried both anxiety and relief. Lee Jun had no idea why he was making such a fuss, but either way, the call had to be made.
Liberation had started openly making moves, so he'd need to warn the Chief of Technology to be careful.
She was an S-Class hunter, after all.
There was every chance she'd become a target for the Liberators.
Regardless, that was how the incident drew to a close.
Go Seok-gu, having confirmed Lee Jun's condition and the rough outline of events, headed home. Choi Jeong-hyeon, who'd stepped out briefly, returned to the hospital room with her arms full of snacks.
Her own injuries must have been considerable too, yet she'd already recovered most of the way and was walking around without a care like this.
Truly the resilience of a martial-class hunter.
Impressive regeneration.
'…I'm martial-class too, though.'
Well, whatever.
So long as one of the two of them recovered quickly, wasn't that a good thing?
"Boss, how are you feeling?"
"Fit as a fiddle. At this rate I could check out by tonight."
"Nope, not happening. You were hurt really badly—if you push yourself, absolutely no no-no."
Choi Jeong-hyeon admonished him as she peeled open the bread packaging herself. Just as he'd said, his injuries had mostly healed—but Choi Jeong-hyeon remembered the moment she first found him.
From what she'd seen then… she couldn't help but worry. He'd been in a state you could only describe as nearly dead.
"The doctor said your bones haven't fully knitted yet, remember? You're staying hospitalized for a week minimum."
She declared firmly, sticking a straw into his milk. Lee Jun smiled wryly at her overprotectiveness—yet when he remembered how close to death he'd truly come, his head spun.
'I can't die again.'
How pathetic would it be to die to someone like Kaufman with a second life he'd fought so hard for?
And at the same time… he'd been made acutely aware of his current level.
To nearly be killed by Kaufman, one of the weakest of the Liberators.
In this state, forget training successors—Liberation would simply assassinate him.
Bastards.
From here on, Liberation's acts of terror against S-Class hunters would accelerate in earnest. In his previous life, they'd known Lee Jun was a noncombatant and hadn't given him a second thought… but this time would be different.
They would know Lee Jun was the one who killed Kaufman.
'If what Jeong-hyeon described is accurate… Dolores, then.'
One of the executives about whom he had almost no information. The fact that she'd left without killing either of them… meant she was, for now, an unreadable one.
'I'd hoped she wouldn't report it… but that's probably too much to ask.'
Well, since there was no way to know, for the time being the outside world had been told that Jeanne had disposed of Kaufman.
Which was why she was currently being shuffled from place to place as a key witness to the incident. Jeanne had been caught up in the events herself, so she could have rested, but she'd wanted to do it.
She said she wanted to be helpful.
How could anyone be so endearing?
Regardless, thanks to that, Lee Jun could at least devote himself entirely to recovery.
Though he was already almost fully healed.
"Oh right, Jeong-hyeon. If there's anything you want from this auction's lots, just say the word."
"From this auction?"
"Yes. The auction house said they'd give Jeanne whatever she needs as a token of thanks. She didn't really have her eye on anything, so they're offering to let us take what we need instead."
"Really?!"
The single greatest credit for this incident belonged to Jeanne, and if you counted down from there, it would be Lee Jun.
Publicly, of course, it all went down as Jeanne's doing.
Naturally, it had all been done out of necessity—and it had been Lee Jun who proposed it that way in the first place.
But the guilt of claiming the credit wouldn't leave her, so Jeanne had insisted the entire reward for this incident go to Lee Jun.
There was only one item among the lots that Lee Jun actually needed, so he planned to pass along anything Seo Yoon or Choi Jeong-hyeon wanted.
"Still… you're the one who went through all the hardship, Boss."
"Come on—what I did was what the agency did, what we all did. I don't want anything, so think it over carefully on my behalf."
"…Thank you."
Choi Jeong-hyeon spoke with a deeply moved expression.
It had been something they'd all earned together, after all.
Well… still, growing positive feelings toward the boss was a good thing.
If the cohesion within the organization strengthened like this, it was nothing but a win for him.
Either way.
A good thing was a good thing, wasn't it?
Choi Jeong-hyeon beamed cheerfully and peeled another bread for Lee Jun.
"…Jeong-hyeon, I can open my own bread, you know."
"Hehe, no refusals allowed."
In the middle of it all, something suddenly occurred to Choi Jeong-hyeon.
Right now, this room held only the two of them—Lee Jun and herself.
But until Go Seok-gu arrived, there had been three people in this room.
"By the way, Boss—where did Seo Yoon go?"
"Ah, Seo Yoon's out on a quick errand."
"Sorry? An errand?"
That's right—precisely speaking, she'd gone to Freya's.
She had various items to pick up.
And the biggest of them all—
"Your prosthetic arm is finished, Jeong-hyeon."
Designed by the Chief of Technology, co-crafted by Freya.
The collaboration of the two people hailed as the pinnacle of the crafting world was complete.
For Choi Jeong-hyeon, who'd been wearing a prosthetic that didn't even fit her length all this time, it was wonderful news indeed.