Chapter 21
Chapter 21
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 021
Chapter Title: Mad Hunter: ??? (5)
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7.
He pulled something out from his pocket.
Yeah... so he did use that.
《Bloodline Tracking》 couldn't replicate equipment or tools.
But I could guess from the finger grip. Fingers clutching small, round "somethings."
No doubt about it.
That was definitely... a [Holy Blood Pill].
An item to lure in surrounding Heteromorphs.
He tossed the [Holy Blood Pills] down the stairs.
What a big spender.
Five pills just for this?
──Splash!
Suddenly, Park Ji-won sliced open the palm of his other hand.
"What are you doing?"
I whipped around in surprise.
But there was no pain on his face. Just the fierce glint of hatred-fueled determination.
"《Bloodline Tracking》 can replicate up to three at most."
"......!"
"If there's enough blood, that is. You bastard. Since you're watching, see it clearly."
At that moment, the other 《Bloodline Tracking》 instances caught the otherworlders. Figures leaping madly down the stairs.
"Weird. What the hell is it?"
A strange doubt wriggled in my mind, and I muttered to myself without thinking. Jeong Ha-kyeong picked up on it.
"Yeah. Why are the otherworlders completely ignoring him?"
"What do you mean?"
To Park Ji-won's question, Jeong Ha-kyeong unusually answered straightforwardly.
"[Holy Blood Pills] are lures. Lures and nothing more."
"I know."
"Know, my ass. Do you know they can't hide a hunter's presence either?"
Some stealth-type unique skill?
He clearly had some trick up his sleeve, but with nothing but guesses available now, I let it drop.
The moment the otherworlders' charge ended, he pressed the open/close button. Hunter Yang Je-gyeom grumbled in disbelief.
"This crazy bastard. He knew we were coming."
"He might've figured out our base is at DMC Station..."
Baek Hyeon-jong almost said "through torture," but glanced at Park Ji-won and shut his mouth. Yang Je-gyeom reloaded his rifle and said,
"Let's get out of here already. What more is there to learn?"
"No. He still has [Holy Blood Pills] left."
"He probably held onto them to save 'em. Look, he's heading for the exit."
The 《Bloodline Tracking》 was indeed walking toward the exit.
But...
I shook my head.
"He could circle back and sneak into the station. Ji-won, keep tracking to the end."
That was when it happened.
The 《Bloodline Tracking》 stopped in front of the concourse entrance... and started hurling [Holy Blood Pills] everywhere.
"My God."
Baek Hyeon-jong let out a sigh.
"The area outside is a stepped plaza... If otherworlders are waiting there..."
I bit my lip too.
The outside was currently shrouded in stage-4 yellow fog.
Unlike underground, we couldn't even secure visibility with flashlights... Heading out there was suicide.
"Then we use our heads. Staying put solve anything?"
With that, Yang Je-gyeom dashed toward the station exit.
"If I fire off some shots, they'll crawl right in. I'll lure them."
As everyone's faces went slack in shock, I alone shouted urgently.
"Stop right now! His plan isn't──"
It couldn't be that straightforward.
I tried to yell, but it was already too late.
──Clang!
The sound of metal jaws snapping shut.
Yang Je-gyeom tumbled in the darkness. A wretched scream echoed through the station.
"Ah, aaak! It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!"
"Je-gyeom! What's wrong, man! Yang Je-gyeom! Answer me!"
Baek Hyeon-jong's shout.
I immediately shone the Dawn Sword on Yang Je-gyeom. He was writhing and sobbing on the floor.
...This lunatic.
A hollow laugh escaped me.
Setting traps for human hunting too?
Up close, his left ankle was severed clean off. The severed foot was caught in the steel trap with it.
Bear-trap sized.
Its blood-slick jaws clamped shut viciously.
"Ha-kyeong!"
"Got it! Pulling him out now."
Jeong Ha-kyeong grabbed the first-aid kit from her backpack. It had disinfectant hydrogen peroxide and hemostatic bandages inside.
"It hurts, it hurts, p-please, save me, save me."
Yang Je-gyeom in full panic attack.
"Stay still. Wanna bleed out and die?"
"Please. Please. I was wrong."
"Goddamn it! I said stay still! Somebody grab this idiot. Quick."
As Jeong Ha-kyeong poured disinfectant on the stump, the rest of us had to spring up from our spots.
"......Ahahahahaha......"
Outside the station entrance.
Laughter echoing from the fog.
Laughter that had seen it all. Like an audience cracking up at a sitcom.
...It's him.
My heart started pounding.
No.
Kim Baek-jun, calm down.
I shook my head to clear the shock. Then, I quickly assessed the situation.
Out there, the stepped plaza was his home turf.
Heteromorphs and traps lurking in the fog, no doubt. But they weren't that dangerous if you stayed alert.
The problem was the yellow fog.
The fog made Heteromorphs and traps invisible. It gave him absolute advantage.
So.
If I cleared the fog, the tables would turn.
Tough...
Should I use "that method" I'd thought of before?
No choice.
I grabbed Jeong Ha-kyeong's shoulder.
"One favor."
"Not asking me to do something insane again, right?"
I explained "that method."
Jeong Ha-kyeong looked incredulous.
"Just do that and it works? For real?"
"Can't guarantee it. But I've seen it happen once."
"Then fuck... The question is if I can dodge the traps with 《Super Acceleration》."
I'd thought she'd hesitate, but surprisingly, she nodded right away.
"Fine. Let's do it."
"...Not even gonna think it over?"
"What's to think?"
Jeong Ha-kyeong punched my chest lightly.
"I've seen your plans work best so far. I'll trust you."
"Feels like I'm sending you to your death──"
"──Shut it. You didn't force me. This is my choice."
Jeong Ha-kyeong started disarming. She set down her rifle and shed her armor. To make herself as light as possible.
But for some reason, she kept her pistol.
"If I hit a trap, I'll off myself."
That's the answer when I asked why.
"Pardon?"
"Better than getting eaten by those zombie fucks or chopped up by that psycho."
"Ha-kyeong, wait."
"Done. If I trip a trap, don't come save me."
In that instant, I snatched the pistol from her. Jeong Ha-kyeong looked stunned.
"What? Give it back quick. Time's tight, isn't it?"
"Promise you won't kill yourself, and I will."
"...What?"
"If something goes wrong, I'll stake everything to save you. So don't give up until the very last second."
Jeong Ha-kyeong was speechless for a moment.
"God... You're impossible."
Then she nodded with a wry smile.
"Okay. You better keep that promise. Or I'll haunt you forever as a vengeful ghost and fuck your life up."
"Yes. No suicide."
I handed back the pistol.
In that moment, our expressions turned grim in unison. I gripped the Dawn Sword reverse and raised it high.
"Ready? Here we go."
"Bon appétit."
I hurled it out the entrance with all my might.
Not horizontal, but at an acute angle. It had to embed in the ground.
──Shuuuaaaa!
The moment the sword dragged dawnlight into the fog and vanished, Jeong Ha-kyeong blinked out of sight.
──Snap! ──Clangclangsnap! ──Snapclangsnap!
Traps snapping shut all at once from the fog.
Transcendent speed, 《Super Acceleration》.
At that speed, she'd blow past, triggering front and rear traps almost simultaneously.
"Assault team, gather up now."
"Wh-what's going on?"
I grabbed Yang Je-gyeom's rifle and ammo belt while quickly briefing the plan.
"Visibility's about to open."
"...Visibility? How?"
"Then we charge. One stalker stays here to guard Yang Je-gyeom and Ji-won. It's all or nothing in a split second."
Please...
That split second felt eternal.
I waited anxiously, praying desperately for Jeong Ha-kyeong's luck.
Still?
Why still...?
Just as my gut started burning.
[Unique Weapon Unequipped: Dawn Sword]
The long-awaited system message arrived. And with it.
──Chingalingaling!
Dawnlight swirled like a storm.
Like angel wingfeathers, like cherry blossoms, countless glimmers scattered.
That radiant vortex incinerated the fog everywhere, dyeing heaven and earth in light.
...It worked!
I thrilled at the sight while clenching my fist.
It hit perfectly.
When escaping Jongno-gu, I'd given the Dawn Sword to Park Ji-yeon.
Then, it had unleashed its manifestation storm. The lightstorm that swept the yellow fog.
[Cooldown: 900 seconds]
What? 15-minute cooldown?
This risk is too high.
Never use it unless it's dire.
Good thing I grabbed Yang Je-gyeom's gun just in case.
"Insane. The fog really cleared!"
One stalker gasped.
In less than a second, I scanned the surroundings.
The storm's glow fading.
At its center, Jeong Ha-kyeong waving at us.
She's safe.
Her whole body intact.
I shifted my gaze.
The stepped plaza.
Sure enough, countless Heteromorphs hidden all over.
"Gaga... GahgahΨΩ......"
"Arrrar... Ahihihi......"
What?
Blinded by the light?
Clutching their eyes, screaming nonstop.
No time to think.
Because...
Homeplus escalator side.
There, the laughing-masked figure overlooked us.
The moment our eyes met across the air.
He spun to flee. Not letting him escape.
"Let's go!"
I charged while shouting.
Traps everywhere, but no real threat.
The Dawn Sword's glow made them plain as day. See, dodge, run.
"Baek Hyeon-jong! Mow them down before they recover!"
"Got it!"
Some Heteromorphs snapped out and lunged, but assault team bullets dropped them helplessly.
I didn't stop, sprinting up the escalator. Jeong Ha-kyeong caught up and joined.
"My gun?"
"Over there. Told a stalker to──"
"──Here."
This voice... what?
Handing Jeong Ha-kyeong her gun and backpack was, astonishingly, Park Ji-won.
"Why'd you follow? Told you to stay at the station."
"Gonna save Sis. Can't be late without me."
"Just let him. Gotta bring him now? Fine, but if you die, it's your choice. Got it?"
"Yes. I know."
Jeong Ha-kyeong...
Why defend Park Ji-won? Because it's practical?
Couldn't figure it.
But no time to shake him off now.
Had to chase the bastard.
Bounding up stairs two or three at a time, we reached the escalator top. Finally, there he was.
80 meters away.
Fleeing toward the fog-shrouded cinema building.
Won't miss.
I dropped to a kneeling stance, sighted carefully, squeezed the trigger.
Rat-tat── Rat-tat── Rattle──
A groan mixed in at the end of the burst, and he staggered.
Right thigh hit?
Even so, he threw himself into the fog and vanished.
"Did... did we get him?"
Park Ji-won panted, catching up late and yelling.
"No. Damn... This gun's zeroed all wrong."
Best I could do was adjust on the fly and clip his leg.
"Chase him!"
Rushing up, a trail of blood sprayed long across the path.
Into the cinema.
Damn... I scowled.
"This got tricky."
"Yeah. Indoor fight with that trap-setting fuck..."
"Why?"
Jeong Ha-kyeong sighed; Park Ji-won asked urgently, his tone impatient to rush in.
"You idiot. This is his turf from here. Who knows what's where? Traps in spots you can't imagine."