Chapter 43

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Translator: 8uhl

Chapter: 43

Chapter Title: One Who Steps on Karma

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BOOM!!

'Damn it! Han Cheol-min, you bastard!!'

I snatched Yeon-woo up and dodged to the side just in time. The jiangshi's arm slammed uselessly into the asphalt. A quick scan with my ability showed nothing special about the boss monster. The only problem was that I couldn't use my skills right now.

One shout, and it would all be over—but that would tip off Han Cheol-min, who was no doubt watching us from somewhere.

"Aaaah!! G-Get away!"

"Mr. Kim Gi-jin, over here!"

I yelled toward Kim Gi-jin, who was fleeing in blind panic, but it seemed like fear had drowned out his senses completely.

Clang!

Kieeeek!

In a pinch, I hurled the baseball bat at the jiangshi's head. It let out a grotesque screech and whipped its head toward me.

Now that I'd drawn its attention, it was time to get Yeon-woo somewhere safe. I bent down and grabbed her shoulder.

"Yeon-woo, you see that bush over there?"

"Y-Yes!"

"Your big sis will wrap this up in five minutes, so hide there until..."

Hold on.

A chill ran down my spine. I curled my fingers into a circle and pointed toward the bush.

"Gasp!"

I sucked in a sharp breath without realizing it.

'So that's the mistake from the last timeline.'

If I'd sent her there, Yeon-woo would've fallen into a poisoned stupor and died. And that's probably exactly what happened before.

Kieeeek!

The jiangshi, which had been hopping toward me like a flea, screeched again in a spine-chilling wail.

"Yeon-woo! Just stay right there! I'll finish this in five minutes!"

"O-Okay...!"

BOOM!

The jiangshi swung its long arm, trying to grab me.

"Haaaah!"

Staring at the ground, I shouted, activating Word Without Feet. I leaped onto the jiangshi's shoulder in an instant. Before its black pupil could fix on me, I clenched my fist.

Crunch.

Kiiiiaaak!!

I poured everything into a punch straight to the jiangshi's face. Bones cracked, and viscous blue blood splattered onto my hand.

Splat.

I shook off my hand as I landed on the ground.

Eh, a movement skill like this should be fine.

The thought of Han Cheol-min's creepy gaze from somewhere made my face twist in disgust.

"P-Please spare me, spare me, spare me..."

"Oh, for crying out loud."

Kim Gi-jin had collapsed in front of the gate, clutching his head and trembling in terror. I picked up the knife that had fallen by his feet and charged at the staggering jiangshi.

KYAAAACK!!

Whoosh—

The jiangshi swept its arm, clearing everything around it. I jumped rope over the arm and landed right in front of its torso. Watching its sluggish arm turn toward me, I gripped the knife tighter.

Slash—

My knife tip tore into its solar plexus faster than its arm could decapitate me.

"Urgh..."

Blue blood poured over my hand again, but I pushed past the sticky disgust and drove the blade deeper.

Clang.

My blood-slick hand slipped, and I dropped the knife. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠The battered dagger, coated in blue gore, clattered across the asphalt.

'...Feels familiar somehow.'

The only knives I'd ever handled were kitchen ones, yet this felt oddly natural.

Did I use one like this before?

Thud.

As I rubbed my numb hand, the jiangshi clutched its belly with its long arm and toppled forward.

Clang.

A wooden shard with a weird smell dropped into my hand.

'Hope everyone's okay...'

"Ji-hee-ssi! Ji-hee-ssi!"

Then Han Cheol-min's voice rang out. The trash bastard came running with a bright smile, paused to catch his breath, then snapped his head up.

"You awakened, right?"

"..."

"What skill is it? That leap earlier was insane. Movement skill? Defense skill?"

I closed my eyes briefly, suppressing my rage and steadying my breath. Otherwise, I'd grab him by the collar and smash his face into the pavement.

"What kind of unique skill? What's the rank?"

"Enough."

"Whoa~ Awakening on the spot like that? First time I've seen it! And everyone's unhurt—what luck..."

"I said shut up!!"

Vmmm—

The air vibrated with my shout, making Han Cheol-min stagger.

"Unhurt? Does that guy look fine to you?"

"J-Ji-hee-ssi..."

"Does Yeon-woo look fine to you!!"

"One wrong move, and everyone here would've died. Don't you know even a D-grade is deadly to unawakened or trainees?"

"This business is all..."

"Oh~ Business? Profiting off desperate people? Gambling with lives?"

Thud.

A thunder-like crack split the ground beneath my feet.

"No one who makes money off lives ever gets a happy ending. Figure it out yourself."

"Hic."

Han Cheol-min let out an undignified hiccup. Finally, he shut his mouth and hung his head.

Repentance, huh. Who knows if it's genuine.

"Mr. Gi-jin, over here..."

Han Cheol-min fumbled like a broken machine before applying medicine to Kim Gi-jin's wounds and tending to him. I'd braced for a fight, but my eloquence wrapped it up easily.

"Sniff, heuk, sob."

"Oh, right—Yeon-woo!"

Yeon-woo was huddled in the middle of the dungeon.

"Yeon-woo, it's all over!"

"Hic, heuk... R-Really?"

"Yeah! Time to go home... Whoa!"

Screech.

Yeon-woo shot up too fast and tripped over her own feet. The cheap lace snagged on the asphalt, exposing her shoulder.

'What the hell.'

My mind went blank.

Her shoulder and collarbone were covered in dark bruises and greenish burn scars. Poorly treated, they left scars everywhere. My legs buckled, and I knelt there, staring blankly.

"Ow."

Yeon-woo casually fixed her clothes and threw herself into my arms. A sharp, grassy scent stung my nose.

"It's okay, it's okay, Yeon-woo."

"H-Hueh, heung!"

A few pats on the back, and she burst into the sobs she'd held in. She clutched my clothes and wailed at the top of her lungs.

No matter how monsters could end lives in an instant, maybe the real terror for Yeon-woo wasn't the monster at all.

"It's really okay now. It'll all be okay."

Images overlapped: Ji-yu suffering in the hospital when she should've been enjoying her youth, and Yeon-woo enduring her parents' abuse. My arms tightened around her, tears blurring my vision.

Parents sending their child into hell. People exploiting hearts for profit.

"Forget all the painful memories. Let's live happily from now on."

May these horrific memories fade, and may Yeon-woo's future be filled only with blessings.

I prayed for her happiness before cowardly projections of Ji-yu could take over my mind.

Things wrapped up more smoothly than expected. The moment Han Cheol-min saw the police outside the gate, he spaced out for a bit before meekly offering his hands. He was hauled away in the squad car. I'd expected resistance, but after my words, he'd turned compliant.

The police arrival startled more than just him.

"P-Police? Why are they here?!"

Yeon-woo's parents, there to pick her up, freaked out and tried to flee with her, but Station Chief Lee Go-eun blocked them. Yeon-woo bravely showed her scars, and her parents faced investigation.

"What happens to Yeon-woo now?"

"She'll go to a protection facility first. Separating her from her parents is priority."

Before getting in the car, Yeon-woo stared at me, hugged me once, and finally flashed a childlike smile.

'Thank you, sis.'

She mouthed it and waved goodbye.

Vroom.

I stood frozen until the car vanished from sight. My chest tightened, and I bit my lower lip.

"Quite a lot happened."

Once the police cars left, only Station Chief Lee ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Go-eun and I remained by the gate. The setting sun painted his face crimson. I turned to him, hands in pockets, and he met my gaze.

"Sometimes people scare me more than monsters."

"I've never entered a dungeon myself, but I agree—people can be terrifying."

"...Yeon-woo will be okay, right?"

Lee Go-eun looked up at the maple-tinted sky without a word. A lukewarm breeze blew, carrying occasional cicada cries.

"The protection is guaranteed. How the abuse affects her personality long-term... that's harder to say."

I let out a dry laugh despite myself. His careful wording fit his character perfectly.

"But that smile she gave Hunter Shin Ji-ui? She'll pull through on her own, I think."

Lee Go-eun grinned, the biggest smile I'd seen from him.

I just shrugged. Fear, anger, selfishness, sorrow—a turbulent summer evening faded away.

"Choi Min Hunter!!"

BOOM!!

A massive boulder slammed into the fire-formed cube and ricocheted off, shattering to pieces. As the cube dissolved into smoke, Choi Min emerged slowly.

The rock giant ahead roared, hurling boulders from its body, but none touched her.

Choi Min glanced back. Han Jin-woo was busy healing a near-dead hunter, and their defense hunter was too drained to support properly.

'Tricky.'

She assumed position and shot toward the giant like a bullet.

Viiing.

Wind whistled as crimson flames erupted around her, shifting to blue.

Roooar!!

The giant reached out, but its heavy arm was too slow. Choi Min zipped around it like a meteor shower, then raised both hands high and slashed downward through empty air.

Boom boom!!

Blue flames cleaved the giant in half. Debris exploded everywhere. Choi Min cast Air Raid Shelter over Han Jin-woo and the others.

Thud.

Falling rocks crashed against the shelter and dropped harmlessly.

'Taking too long.'

Her head spun as she descended slowly.

"Cough! Hack!"

Drip.

Blood trickled from her chin. She pulled water from her inventory, splashed her face, and spat out the blood in her mouth.

Da Nang S-Grade Dungeon. She knew the clear method; the rock giant boss wasn't tough.

'Veteran hunters with me, so what went wrong?'

She picked up a byproduct from the ground and examined it.

"...Gate fragment?"

It was part of the gate they'd pushed through earlier.

Fwoosh.

A small flame from her hand turned it to ash effortlessly.

She fished a crumpled cigarette pack from her leather jacket's inner pocket, lit one, and inhaled deeply.

"Haaa..."

An unprecedented anomaly. Or maybe not the first. The world's balance around her was fraying.

"This dungeon's about to explode too."

A pure white light approached from behind. She wasn't surprised—just rolled her eyes at it and took a deeper drag.

"Explosion timings are getting shorter."

"At this rate, gates will burst like breaths."

Gate explosions. The event that scarred her and granted destructive power.

She crushed the spent cigarette to ash in her fist. The light floated beside her and added,

"Found out anything about that awakener you saved?"

Her eyebrow twitched.

"No."

The bobbing light halted abruptly.

"Not like you."

It floated up to face her squarely. The defector she knew wasn't this sloppy. Reckless from having nothing to lose, but never sloppy.

Yet this Choi Min seemed off—like a screw loose. Last time, he'd threatened and extracted info. She'd expected the same. But no.

"That awakener bothering you?"

Whoosh—

Wind blew. Her red hair fluttered around her eyes.

'Can't help it.'

She opened her status window and glared at the tucked-away text.

A mission even the Absolute couldn't see. It declared Shin Ji-ui the world's savior.

'As always.'

She mulled it over, closed the window, and answered the light.

"Not an Apostle of the Creator. Doesn't feel like it."

"'Feeling' from you? Surprising."

She rubbed her dry face with one hand and shot the light a glare.

"Whatever. We just achieve our goals, right?"

Step step.

She walked toward the shelter. The white light stared at her back.

"Right. That's why we made the Apostle contract."

"..."

"I maintain the world, and you..."

Choi Min stopped and turned. Her eyes burned with intent to shred the light.

"...for hollow atonement."