Korea's Strongest: Kang Sung-gi (10)
Kim Seol-bi looked flustered at the sight of Valentina, who had suddenly appeared.
"Didn't it work?"
"It's not that it didn't work... just as I expected. She used something really potent."
Valentina frowned as she replied.
"Their tech is advancing faster than I thought. Not good for the world."
"Got it. Let's go together."
I'd half-expected this wouldn't go smoothly. As Valentina said, they wouldn't have used some weak sauce on an S-rank hunter.
Valentina had once saved her disciples from drugs, but the stuff that hooked Park Hye-na was way stronger, she'd said. Made sense—they'd keep refining it. Bastards like that are always diligent about their dirty work.
"Don't worry."
I took Kim Seol-bi's hand and reassured her.
Expecting Park Hye-na's treatment to be tough, I also had another hunch stirring inside me. Maybe I could heal her. It wasn't arrogance—just a gut feeling, like when I'd cured Choi Yunmi. No real basis, but I knew I could do it.
We rode the elevator down to the basement with Valentina. There, Park Hye-na lay completely stripped on the floor. Obviously, Valentina and Luiza hadn't undressed her for fun—they'd done it to treat her. Luiza sat exhausted on the floor too.
"I know what poison they used. But the way they administered it is vicious. They probably don't even have an antidote. This was meant to kill."
Luiza's words hit hard—the situation was worse than I'd imagined. A drug designed to kill. From the enemies' view, maybe they figured they needed something this extreme against an S-rank. Hook her, make her compliant, and worry about the rest later.
I approached Park Hye-na. The old me would've zeroed in on her naked body first. But now? Barely registered. Sure, it was stunning—better than I'd pictured. Her breasts and ass had even more volume bare than clothed. Kinda crass to rate it, but she seemed the type whose potential really shone during sex. Those curves screamed raw sensuality.
The inverted cross bruise on her arm had grown since earlier. The marks that'd seeped under her skin now bulged out. They'd tried drawing the toxin out, but it hadn't worked as planned.
I touched it with a finger. A sharp sting—like the poison inside the cross clashing with the toxin in my own finger. Suddenly, I got why Luiza struggled. It wasn't just the poison; the delivery method was the real killer. Even my poison skills felt the aggression.
Like with Choi Yunmi, I peered into Park Hye-na's body.
"Haa..."
A sigh escaped as I grimaced. Outwardly, she looked fine. Inside? Total chaos. Her mana tangled with the intruding toxin in a hopeless snarl, like a knotted mess of threads impossible to unravel.
No standard fix would cut it.
"How is it?"
Valentina asked, sensing my focus.
"A mess..."
"As expected... Looks like we can't save her."
"Still, we have to try everything."
I placed my hand on Park Hye-na's heart and concentrated. Closing my eyes brought a new image—a mana map matching what I'd "seen" before. Easier to parse this way.
Patiently, I studied it. My fingertips heated; her mana resonated with mine. Maybe imagination, but it felt like a plea. Save me. Or just kill me.
I opened my eyes.
"We'll take a short break and come back."
Valentina said. First time I'd seen her this drained. Luiza too. Potions or whatever, they needed rest.
"Sure, go ahead."
They'd done all they could. The rest was on me. If I couldn't save her, no one could.
I wasn't even sure what I could pull off. But untangling the knots wouldn't expel the poison—I knew that much.
"Alright then. Good luck, darling."
Valentina patted my shoulder softly before heading to the elevator with Luiza.
They were the peaks of sorcery and poison arts. If they couldn't heal her, no one could. Park Hye-na was lucky they'd even tried. But their failure turned that luck to despair.
Could I do what they couldn't? Honestly, daunting. But for Kim Seol-bi's sake, I'd give it everything. Park Hye-na wasn't that close to me, but Seol-bi changed that.
I switched tactics. Instead of just scanning, I infused my mana into her—purest form to avoid backlash.
How much time passed? Sweat beaded on my forehead. Mana was going in, but like pouring into a leaky jar—the toxin devoured it, nullifying the effect.
Still, my reserves were insane. Infusing didn't deplete my total—just tired me out. No clue how long I could keep it up, especially with no guaranteed results.
Another ten minutes or so, and finally—change. Her near-dead mana stirred, resonating with mine. The faint flow gained strength. The rigid toxin knots began loosening.
Luiza had said they identified the poison but couldn't untangle its vicious weave. And now, the impossible snarl was unraveling bit by bit.
I shifted the mana type—infusing my poison arts to battle the drug directly. Peering deep, I watched the toxin fade, devoured by my mana as the tangles unraveled.
Another effect emerged: the resisting poison shifted, dragging her entangled mana along. Destination...
Of course it'd end up there...
My ability peaked through sex. High-caliber women like her reacted strongest to my mana. The poison and mana converged right on her pussy.
Figured it'd go this way...
Good that Valentina and Luiza were gone. Kim Seol-bi too.
I focused mana into my finger—less effective than the real thing, but I was getting skilled.
"..."
I spread Park Hye-na's legs and slid my finger inside her pussy. Slick walls parted, her tight channel sucking it in greedily. The poison fled desperately, but that just trapped it.
I injected mana directly, purging the toxin. Far more potent than indirect infusion. No escape—the poison couldn't flee because her mana craved my touch.