Chapter 89: The Fanatic's Failed Subjugation
Urgency flashed across Kim Jae-kyung's face.
Her ability was pure mental assault.
Aside from her C-rank skills Subjugation and Brainwashing, she had no other means of attack.
But she never felt it lacking.
Until now, no one had ever resisted her when she set her mind to subjugating them. No one had escaped her brainwashing.
At least not in Dongdaemun.
That confidence had carried her into Shinchon, convinced she could bring Zeon under her control in an instant.
But for some inexplicable reason, her skills simply didn't work on him.
"Tch! Subjugation!"
She unleashed the skill once more.
Zeon just stared at her blankly.
And as expected, a massive backlash crashed over her.
"Aaaagh!"
Clutching her head, Kim Jae-kyung screamed in agony from the excruciating pain.
This was the first time she'd ever encountered someone immune to her mental attacks.
Panic gripped her instead.
Terror flickered in Kim Jae-kyung's eyes.
Zeon's gaze, looking down at her so intently, felt utterly terrifying.
I have to get out of here. Now.
Kim Jae-kyung barked orders at the customers in the street stall.
"Everyone, attack him!"
In an instant, the men's expressions twisted, and they lunged at Zeon.
"Die!"
"Haaah!"
They weren't Awakeners.
Yet they charged without a hint of fear.
They were already brainwashed.
The moment they'd approached her, leering and harassing, they'd fallen under her control.
"Tch!"
Zeon clicked his tongue and swung his fist.
Thud! Thud-thud!
He didn't even need to use a skill.
Three punches dropped all three men.
By the time Zeon turned around after felling them, Kim Jae-kyung had vanished.
She'd used the men as sacrificial pawns to cover her escape.
"Can't just let her go."
Regardless of the reason, she'd tried to brainwash him.
Mental manipulators among Awakeners were exceedingly rare.
Zeon's iron will had saved him—if it had been even slightly weaker, he'd have been her puppet, obeying her every command.
In some ways, a C-rank mental manipulator was more terrifying than a B-rank martial artist.
He couldn't let someone like that walk away unscathed.
She had to pay for touching him.
Zeon launched himself in the direction she'd fled.
Her escape route was obvious.
She's heading for Dongdaemun.
Before the Great Cataclysm, areas like Jongno and Euljiro had lain between Shinchon and Dongdaemun. But those place names no longer existed.
They'd vanished with Seoul's fall.
Now, uniform slums sprawled there.
The difference from Shinchon or Dongdaemun was the lack of a firm ruling force, leaving it more rundown and labyrinthine.
Kim Jae-kyung exploited that perfectly.
"Hmph! No matter how fast you are, once you're in here, you'll be lost."
She knew the terrain like the back of her hand.
Dashing through the maze-like slums at full speed, Kim Jae-kyung spotted a tall spire in the distance.
The church, symbol of Dongdaemun.
"Yes!"
Joy lit her face in that instant.
Thud!
Someone ahead tripped her foot.
She tumbled to the ground at full momentum, rolling several times before slamming into a wall.
Shaking her head, Kim Jae-kyung staggered to her feet.
"Which fucking bastard..."
Looking up for the culprit, her eyes went wide.
It was Zeon—the man who'd tripped her at the critical moment.
"Wh-when?!"
"You need to train your physical abilities too. At that speed, how do you expect to reach Dongdaemun?"
"Tch!"
Kim Jae-kyung shot to her feet in a frenzy.
She scanned her surroundings, about to unleash her skill on the nearby people.
"Tch! That's not gonna fly."
Zeon moved first.
Crack!
His strike slammed into her gut.
Kim Jae-kyung flew backward without even a scream.
The impact felt like a hole punched through her stomach; she couldn't rise for a while.
Fuck!
Tears and snot streaming, she glared at Zeon.
He showed no mercy for her being a woman.
She was an Awakener first.
Zeon knew better than anyone not to go easy on them.
Kim Jae-kyung raised a hand to block his approach.
"W-wait! Let's talk this out."
"Talk, huh..."
"Why so petty, big guy? We can settle this with words."
"Talking with someone who tried to brainwash me? Not the smartest move."
"That was my mistake. I'm sorry, okay? You just looked so tempting. Look, I'll be straight with you. Join up with Dongdaemun. It'll be good for you."
"Good how?"
"We'll recognize you as Shinchon's ruler."
"Don't need it. Why bother with that hassle..."
"Th-then what about me? I'll serve you. Whatever you want, I'll do it."
In the end, she pulled out her last card.
No fool would miss what "anything a woman desires" implied.
She looked plain at first glance, but closer inspection revealed a subtle allure.
Any man could be swayed by her looks.
Kim Jae-kyung figured Zeon would bite.
But his response plunged her into despair.
"Even then, you're still Yohan's fanatic. I don't need fanatics."
"Nooo!"
Having fanatics around was just exhausting.
Zeon had no desire for that mental drain. Better to end it cleanly.
Whoosh!
Flames flickered from the Superheat Gauntlet, widening Kim Jae-kyung's eyes.
"No!"
Zeon swung without hesitation.
Intense flames engulfed her in a flash.
Unable to react, she squeezed her eyes shut.
This is it.
Boom!
A miracle occurred.
Someone intervened just before the flames hit, blocking them.
He wore a red hood and red monk robes, his face masked up to the nose.
An eerie figure whose gender was impossible to tell.
Kim Jae-kyung shouted.
"Joshua?"
The one called Joshua scooped her up and bolted toward Dongdaemun.
His speed was like lightning.
He vanished from Zeon's sight in seconds.
Heretic Inquisitor Joshua.
Another of Yohan's blades.
His other moniker: Swift Joshua.
In raw speed, no one in Neo Seoul could match him.
"Tch!"
Zeon clicked his tongue.
He could pursue if he wanted, but that would mean crossing into Dongdaemun.
Then it would be all-out war.
"War with the fanatics... nah."
Even Zeon shrank from battling the fanatics.
Once started, he couldn't half-ass it.
It would only end after killing every last one loyal to Yohan.
No telling how many that was.
Even assuming half of Dongdaemun's population, it was tens of thousands.
Zeon couldn't slaughter them all.
Not due to lack of power, but because he still clung to his humanity.
"Tch!"
Zeon turned away, tongue clicking.
Regret lingered, but this was warning enough for Yohan.
If they provoked him again, he'd deal with it then.
With that thought, he started walking home.
His steps weren't light.
"Put me down already!"
At Kim Jae-kyung's words, Joshua stopped and set her down.
Hands on her knees, she bent at the waist.
"Hah! Hah! Thought I was dead."
Her face was flushed beet red, heart pounding wildly.
Thanks to Joshua, she'd survived by the skin of her teeth, but the terror she'd felt was a first.
Recalling it still quickened her pulse and churned her stomach.
She actually doubled over and dry-heaved for a while.
Joshua watched her silently.
Only after some time did Kim Jae-kyung straighten up.
Wiping her mouth with her sleeve, she said,
"Okay. Thanks for the save..."
"You're a miracle for still breathing."
Joshua spoke for the first time.
His voice was a rough, metallic rasp, contrasting his androgynous look.
Joshua was male.
Kim Jae-kyung asked,
"Even you struggled with him?"
Instead of answering, Joshua showed his sleeve. It was half-burnt.
Her eyes bulged.
His monk robes were a custom item with special resistance to fire and water.
A rare treasure.
And it was damaged.
Proof of Zeon's overwhelming attack power.
Joshua said,
"At least B-rank. Probably higher."
"No wonder my skills bounced off."
A single rank difference, yet the power gap was heaven and earth.
Awakeners staked their lives on rank-ups for good reason. But they weren't easy.
Some toiled their whole lives without advancing.
Kim Jae-kyung was the same.
Having awakened at a high rank, she saw no need to risk death for more.
She'd stagnated ever since.
Gritting her teeth, she swallowed her rage.
Joshua glanced back suddenly.
Toward where Zeon had been.
He was long gone.
"Good judgment."
"What?"
"Exceptional skill paired with cool-headed decisions. Not an easy opponent."
"Even for you?"
"Blocking his attack shook me hard. Head-on, even I couldn't handle him easily."
"That serious?"
"That's how he took out Goran and claimed Shinchon. War now would cost us dearly."
"So what do we do?"
"Convince Yohan."
"What?"
Kim Jae-kyung stared in disbelief.
This was the first time she'd seen Joshua show weakness.
He was the Heretic Inquisitor.
Tasked with purging non-believers in Dongdaemun.
Only possible with his formidable power and unyielding resolve.
Joshua had never regretted a mission.
Hard to believe this was him.
"If you can't sway Yohan, then go all-in to eliminate him. Half-measures won't work on that one."
"Mm."
"Your call."
"Fuck!"
Kim Jae-kyung spat curses instead of an answer.