Korea's Strongest, Kang Sung-gi (9)
“Kang A-jin?”
Park Hye-na looked flustered at the sight of Kang A-jin appearing before us. Truth be told, Kang A-jin wasn't someone you could just meet whenever you wanted. Even if you put in a request, it usually involved going through several intermediaries rather than dealing with her directly. Of course, Park Hye-na had already asked for her help multiple times and even had her personal contact info, but seeing her show up like this still seemed to throw her off.
“Let's go.”
With that single word, she climbed into her car.
“What the hell is going on? Where are we headed?”
Park Hye-na followed us out of the restaurant, but her face made it clear she had no idea how things would unfold from here. Kang A-jin definitely had that air of mystery about her. I'd gotten used to it by now, but what was coming next would probably shock Park Hye-na. Depending on the situation, it might even send her into a panic.
But in the end, none of it would be bad for her. Though I couldn't guarantee just how effective it would be.
Kang A-jin got into her car and drove off first. Park Hye-na followed in her own vehicle, with Kim Seol-bi and me bringing up the rear. Three luxury cars speeding down the road in a row might look a bit surreal to onlookers.
But as expected, we veered onto a sparsely populated route. And when we reached a certain spot, Kang A-jin's car slipped straight through a warp zone.
Park Hye-na's car, right in front of us, slammed on the brakes. It was what I'd anticipated, so Kim Seol-bi called her up.
“It's fine. Follow A-jin. We'll be right behind you.”
Park Hye-na's car started moving again and entered the warp zone where Kang A-jin had vanished. We followed suit.
“What in the world is this place?”
Park Hye-na stepped out of her car, stunned by the sudden change in scenery. Honestly, I still didn't know the exact address here myself. Somewhere in Korea was all I had.
Soon, she spotted a towering, opulent building that seemed utterly out of place in these remote mountains.
“Is this...”
“Yes, it's my house. Come on in. There's someone here who wants to meet you, Hye-na.”
Kim Seol-bi approached and gently took the dazed Park Hye-na's arm.
“It's okay. No need to worry.”
Waiting to greet us inside the house were, predictably, Valentina, Luiza, and Lisa. Coincidentally—or maybe not—Valentina and Luiza were sitting side by side on the sofa, locked in a kiss. It was easy to imagine how they spent their days living here together. Poor Kang A-jin must have her hands full dealing with them.
Park Hye-na, settling onto the spacious sofa, froze at the sight of the two women—one white, one Black—in a full-on French kiss. Kang A-jin's house was already astonishing in its location and design, but walking in to find a foreign same-sex couple making out? That was beyond anything you'd expect.
And it was true enough on the surface. Valentina and Luiza hadn't been in Korea all that long, after all. What was even stranger was the cute girl standing nearby with an emotionless expression, dressed in something between a maid outfit and a sailor uniform.
“Um...”
As Park Hye-na turned to Kim Seol-bi and me to speak, Valentina suddenly sprang to her feet. I didn't for a second think she hadn't noticed Park Hye-na enter. This was her little performance to startle the guest. It was in seriously bad taste, but damn if it didn't work.
“Oh my, oh my, we didn't even notice you come in. So sorry~”
Valentina licked up the drool from her lips with her tongue and flashed a grin. Her words said sorry, but her face screamed anything but.
“So you're the one? The poor thing hooked on drugs?”
Park Hye-na jolted at Valentina's words.
“How did you...”
She glanced back at me, and I answered.
“We heard about you from her regarding the South American drug cartel. She's Kang A-jin's master, came from Brazil. Her name's Valentina.”
“Nice to meet you.”
Park Hye-na numbly shook Valentina's outstretched hand and managed a greeting.
“Y-Yes... hello.”
“Me too, me too!”
Luiza jumped in.
“I wanna say hi too! I like pretty girls!”
Both Valentina and Luiza were sexual deviants with a baseline attraction to the same sex. Park Hye-na didn't know the full extent yet, and honestly, it wouldn't do her any favors if she did.
“She's from Brazil too. Luiza. A poison sorceress. The best in her field, without a doubt.”
“Aw, come on, you're exaggerating~~ Though it's true.”
Exaggeration, my ass—it was true. I could tell Luiza's Korean wasn't perfectly patched; her speech patterns felt off. Not a language skill issue, more like her personal quirks shining through.
“Poison sorceress...”
At this point, Park Hye-na wasn't staying quiet anymore. Powerful mana surged from her. Kim Seol-bi was trustworthy, and so was I in her eyes, but she clearly wasn't content to just go with the flow any longer. She pulled a weapon from her inventory—a gun-type firearm that fired mana-infused bullets. I hadn't guessed her abilities leaned this way.
“Explain. What's all this about?”
“Aigoo, missy. You can't pull that out in front of your big sisters~~”
Before Park Hye-na could make a move, Luiza stepped up. She closed the distance stealthily, jabbed a finger at her neck, and the S-rank hunter crumpled like a sack. Probably poison, but even so, that was no small feat. I'd never seen a poison sorceress take on another ability user like this. I'd assumed they fought that way, but not by spraying poison everywhere like in a sorceress duel. Well, this wasn't really a fight—just putting an agitated Park Hye-na to sleep.
Valentina turned to me.
“You checked it out?”
I lifted the fallen Park Hye-na's sleeve to reveal the inverted cross bruise on her arm.
“Definite.”
“Confirmed, huh,” Valentina said bitterly.
“Treatment first. No guarantees it'll work, but we have to try.”
At Valentina's words, Luiza peered down at Park Hye-na and muttered.
“What a shame~ I wanna do her right now.”
Did she seriously think Park Hye-na would go along with that? I reconfirmed that Luiza was every bit as dangerous as Valentina—mostly in the sexual sense.
I helped carry the unconscious Park Hye-na to the basement on my back. It looked like Valentina and Luiza would handle the rest together. Valentina handled sorcery, Luiza poison. I figured their synergy would lead to a better treatment method. Drugs were poison, after all, and Valentina had tons of experience dealing with soul sorcerers. Lisa had been born that way, too.
“I'll head upstairs.”
I didn't see how I could help right now.
“Yeah, I'll call if we need you, honey. Might not cut it with just us.”
Calling me if they couldn't handle it alone? That was her acknowledging my abilities surpassed theirs, in a way. And she wasn't wrong. Sure, I wasn't as adept at using or adapting my powers as they were, but raw ability-wise, I was above them.
“Got it. Call if you need me.”
As treatment began, Valentina and Luiza's expressions turned deadly serious. Their earlier teasing about Park Hye-na must've been just that—jokes. I took the elevator back up.
“How is it?”
Kim Seol-bi asked, worry etched on her face.
“Too early to tell. Leaving it to them for now. I'll jump in if needed.”
“Won't be easy.”
Kang A-jin was right. An organization ambitious enough to dominate the world's underworld—and well on its way—wouldn't use some simple drug to addict an S-rank hunter. Park Hye-na's symptoms were advanced, so no guarantees Valentina and Luiza could fix her alone.
Guess I need to prepare.
Honestly, I couldn't gauge how far my abilities could develop or my current limits. Every new incident pushed my boundaries further. Like recently with Choi Yunmi's treatment—I'd peered into a hunter's body and read their mana flow. That might help here. Nothing certain yet, though.
A few hours passed. Kang A-jin, Kim Seol-bi, and I spent the time quietly. We fiddled with our phones, read books, listened to music—but our focus stayed glued to the basement.
Then Valentina emerged, looking exhausted.
“Honey, we need you after all.”