Chapter 16
In the heart of the shura field—BOOM! A deafening roar twists the air pressure inside the cave violently. The space, filled just moments ago with hot moans and ecstasy, transforms in an instant into an execution ground thick with killing intent.
"Hong Yeonhwa... you vixen...!!"
Cold air from Absolute Zero erupts from Baek Seol's hand, taking the form of ice spears. She doesn't hesitate. Whether Han Siu is right beside her or not, her only thought is to kill the intruder who dared to claim what's hers.
Shing—thwack!
Sharp ice spears surge toward Yeonhwa's throat. Still naked, Yeonhwa rolls across the floor with Siu clutched to her chest, barely dodging.
"Aaaah! Clothes! At least let me put on some clothes before you fight!"
Siu screams. Getting caught naked in an S-rank hunter battle? One shard grazing him means instant death—or social suicide.
"Oh my, Baek Seol. You've lost it? That jealous?"
Yeonhwa hides Siu behind her back and roughly drapes his dress shirt—tied around her waist—over him. Red flames swirl in her palm.
"Don't blame me. Blame the owner who couldn't keep watch. And..."
Yeonhwa trails a finger along her cleavage peeking from the shirt collar. The red love bites Siu left are still vivid.
"Our Siu's pretty good at hip work, you know? Thanks to him, I took a full trip to Hong Kong."
"Shut up!!!!"
Baek Seol's reason snaps. Massive ice spikes erupt from the ground like rising icebergs, turning the entire cave floor into a bed of blades pressing in on Yeonhwa and Siu.
"You crazy... Hey! You planning to collapse the cave?!"
Yeonhwa clicks her tongue and deploys Flame Barrier. Extreme cold clashes head-on with superheated flames.
Szzzzzz—!!
A ear-shredding noise erupts, followed by a massive burst of scalding steam. The cave ceiling rocks can't withstand the pressure and crack with screams.
Rumble rumble rumble!
"D-danger!"
Siu instinctively grabs his goggles from the floor and slips them on. The data through the lenses is hopeless.
Spatial Collapse Imminent
Energy Collision: Unmeasurable
At this rate, they're all dead. Baek Seol and Yeonhwa are too focused on killing each other, and in this confined space, an explosion would leave an F-rank like him without even bones to pick.
I have to stop it. But how?
Intense mana collision. Not just any ranks—S-ranks. Siu has no power to suppress their mana with brute force. He's just a mana-near-zero Recorder.
But that's why he can see it. The data and patterns of those mindless mana blobs raging on emotion.
Siu's eyes dart rapidly. Baek Seol's cold waves are sharp and linear. Yeonhwa's flame waves are irregular and spreading. At their collision point—the 'interface'—there's a gap.
Can't block with force? Then disrupt the flow.
Siu scans around desperately.
Please, anything...? Something with mana phenomena...
"Huh, this...?"
A faint energy signature. Siu picks up a torn Rafflesia petal from the floor. It must have fallen with him.
A material that absorbs mana.
Yes! Got it! With this...
Formulas flash in his mind. He yanks a pen from his coat pocket jammed against his body.
"Please, just work once!"
Siu etches fiercely onto the petal, nearly snapping the nib. Not a complex magic circle—just an engineering algorithm applying 'noise canceling' principles to mana studies.
Algorithm: Mana Damping
Principle: Wave Interference
Target: Ice & Fire (Opposing Wave Collision Point)
He bites his hand, dripping a few drops of his blood—mana concentration near zero—as the medium onto the inscribed petal.
"Stop it, you crazy women!!"
Siu hurls the completed petal scroll into the air just before Baek Seol's ice spear and Yeonhwa's fireball collide.
"Neutralize!"
Fwaaah—!
The petal glows, sucking in mana while emitting the exact opposite wave. Like plus(+) and minus(-) canceling to zero.
Shhhhhh...
A miracle unfolds. The massive ice spear from Baek Seol and Yeonhwa's fireball crumble to powder in midair before even touching— no explosion, no shockwave. Just sparkling dust like falling snow as the energy dissipates.
"......Huh?"
"My mana... vanished?"
The two women, radiating murder, freeze in place. An F-rank blocked—no, erased—an S-rank attack head-on?
Their blank stares lock onto Siu.
Siu collapses, panting. Forgetting he's naked except for his coat, he pushes up his glasses and yells.
"If you wanna die, take it outside! Fighting here means we're all buried alive! Who's paying my overtime?!"
The nerd's desperate cry echoes through the cave. In that absurd moment, the tense atmosphere grinds to a halt.
Then—
Weeeeng—! Tap tap tap—!
Mechanical whirring from the hole in the ceiling above. Dozens of high-lumen drones descend, lighting the cave like daylight.
"Gah! Too bright!"
Siu shields his eyes. The drones part, revealing a thick-wired reinforced glass elevator descending slowly.
The doors open, and a woman in a black suit and sunglasses steps out gracefully.
"Having fun, everyone? Hm...?"
Shin Seoyun. Behind her, Haesung Group's private security in full gear lines up.
"......Ha."
Seoyun lowers her sunglasses slightly, surveying the scene. Half-collapsed cave. Baek Seol and Hong Yeonhwa growling at each other. And Siu in the middle, stark naked, barely covering his privates.
Her eyebrow twitches.
"Came to rescue you... and you're shooting porn?"
"N-no, President! It's a misunderstanding! Force majeure!"
Siu pleads desperately, but Seoyun eyes the scattered shredded clothes and sticky fluids on the floor coldly.
"Save excuses for the report. Put this on first. Can't have my employee flopping around like that."
Seoyun gestures to her secretary; a luxury long coat flies to Siu. He scrambles into it, covering up.
"And you two."
Seoyun snaps icily at Baek Seol and Yeonhwa, the two S-rank hunters.
"Take family fights outside. Ground's weakened—collapses in three minutes. Wanna die together?"
Capitalism's might is grand. Faced with the real threat of 'collapse' and the pretext of 'rescue,' even Baek Seol and Yeonhwa agree to a truce.
"...We'll settle it later. Outside."
Baek Seol grinds her teeth and grabs the helicopter rappel line. Yeonhwa shrugs, linking arms with Siu.
Snicker.
"Settle? I already got mine. In the flesh."
* * *
Ten minutes later. Inside Haesung Group's dedicated transport heading back to Seoul. The atmosphere is suffocating hell.
Siu sits in the center of the wide seats. On his left, Baek Seol drips cold air, gripping his wrist like it'll snap. On his right, Hong Yeonhwa pretends to sleep, head on his shoulder like a satisfied cat.
Across from them, Shin Seoyun crosses her legs, typing a rescue fee invoice on her tablet while glaring at Siu.
......Save me.
Siu thinks the monster den was more comfortable.
Then, a system message pops before his eyes.
Intuitive Insight Level Up
You can now read targets' 'status' more precisely, beyond just mana flow.
No new skills or mana. Just his Recorder 'eyes' sharpened.
But Siu feels that's enough. Brute force can't beat these women anyway.
"Han Siu."
Baek Seol breaks the silence, calling him softly. Her calm voice sends chills down his spine.
"Y-yes? Baek Seol-nim?"
Baek Seol slowly turns, locking eyes with him. Deep in her blue irises, black possessiveness swirls.
She presses her lips to his ear, whispering so Yeonhwa can't hear.
"The second we get home, we're bathing."
"......"
"That bitch's scent, her filthy fluids, every last trace... I'll wash it all off you. Even if it scrubs your skin raw."
Baek Seol's hand grips his inner thigh—secretly, firmly.
A dread rises that this won't be a normal bath.
Siu swallows dryly, staring at Seoul's nightscape out the window.
The dungeon's over. But the real shura field is just beginning.
"First... let's clock out..."