Chapter 23
Chapter 23
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 023
Chapter Title: Mad Hunter: ??? (7)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
11.
Instant.
I swung the bear trap down with my left arm.
Shaaaak─ The bear trap bit into my forearm. Those teeth coldly dug into my flesh.
Damn…… it hurts like hell.
But tactically, it exceeded calculations. [Shadow Exoskeleton Full Coverage]…… this thing's incredible?
Protecting my forearm from a trap that could sever an adult man's ankle.
The thought didn't even take a second.
I rolled forward immediately.
And as I sprang right back up, I aimed the gun barrel behind me.
Right then.
Just as expected, something burst from the darkness and tackled me, launching my body into the air.
“ Haaaaaaaak!”
“Aaaaaaah!”
I rolled across the floor, tangled up with it.
Shouts, groans, ragged breaths.
After an endless back-and-forth, it seized the advantage. It mounted my fallen body.
“Here…… Ahahahahaha…… this is it. Ehehehe.”
That ominous metallic tang of blood──and a massive blade gleamed in its hand under the light.
A filthy, vicious knife.
A butcher's cleaver, perfect for a dismemberment killer.
The blade came slashing down at once.
I thrust up my rifle with both hands to block it.
──Kclang!
What the?
It was metal on metal.
Yet the rifle screamed like it would shatter from that single clash.
A <Blacksmith>-forged blade?
──Kaaaaang!
Second clash.
The rifle split clean in half.
At the same time, a jolt of agony shot through both my arm bones. This bastard's raw strength is insane.
[Reuse cooldown: 150 seconds]
Should I use 《Shadow Lurk》?
No. Save that and Dawn Sword for when it pulls its trump card, along with 'that method.'
“Eeehahahahaha!”
It erupted in mad laughter.
Sticky drool oozed from the laughing mask's mouth, splattering my forehead.
“What, that's all you got, huh?”
It raised the blade again.
Murderous intent billowed from the knife like something truly ferocious.
……Gotta dodge this one.
I shoved it off with all I had and rolled aside.
──Boom!
The cleaver slammed into empty floor, sending a vicious shockwave through the ground.
“Wha?”
In that instant, I drew my pistol.
Jeong Ha-kyeong's pistol. Never thought it'd come in this clutch.
Click!
The moment I leveled the pistol.
It scrambled behind the capsules for cover.
Bang! Bang! Bang! ──Bang!
You thought I was easy prey.
My careful shots landed one solid hit before it melted into the dark.
“Kugh!”
I kicked off the ground and rose.
Ripped the flashlight from the rifle, gripped it in my left hand, braced my right with it.
Flashlight-pistol hold.
“Haa. Haa. Haa.”
I wiped cold sweat from my brow with the back of my hand, steadied my breath, and resumed cautious movement.
Where are you? Where'd you hide?
Every time I passed a spot.
Kekekeke…… its laughter echoed from the darkness.
[Row 3, Seat 5]
“This…… this is truly astonishing……”
[Row 2, Seat 7]
“In this pathetic backwater…… a hunter like you exists…… Heh, hehheheh.”
[Row 1, Seat 8]
“Really, just amazing…… Total satisfaction. Makes me crave your screams even more.”
The moment I broke free of the capsule rows, I spotted it.
Snow-white laughing mask.
My flashlight beam pinned it on the front podium.
Dodging bullets?
Half-shielded by the film control machine.
“Wondering what kind of scream you'll let out.”
Finally…… I've reached you.
My heart began to tremble coldly.
Stay calm.
No excitement. No rushing.
It's probably got a killing blow prepped here.
[Reuse cooldown: 30 seconds]
My ace was still on cooldown.
Needed to stall just a little.
“Will you cry before you die? Laugh? Beg──”
──Pew!
The bullet ricocheted off the film control machine.
It twitched aside and clamped its mouth shut. I asked.
“Why'd you do it?”
“Why'd I do what?”
“I asked what drove you to those serial murders.”
It went quiet for a beat.
Like, what kind of stupid question is that?
“Hmm…… What I wanna know. Why so pissed?”
“What?”
“Enjoy it all. Hunters earn that right in full.”
“So hunters get a pass to hack people apart?”
“Hey, you serious? Kinda disappointing.”
I chewed my lip at its sneer.
“Not saying live by every old law. But if you're human──truly human──there's a bottom line, right?”
“What? 'Human'?”
It echoed me.
Then suddenly doubled over in explosive laughter.
“Ahahaha! Pure little goody-two-shoes! How long you gonna cling to the ruins?”
Instantly, the laughter vanished from its voice.
“Why's murder wrong?”
“……What?”
“Robbery? Craving a kill, ripping stuff away──that exquisite rush? Pure instinct.”
“Crazy fuck.”
“Crazy? That's what makes you human! Normal!”
Such repulsive, bottomless madness.
Deeper than any killer I'd ever faced. This one even had conviction in its murders.
“Look…… your world's already toast. You too──reclaim your instincts. Yeah, your freedom. You wanna kill me too, right? Admit it?”
That's when the message I'd been waiting for chimed.
[Reuse cooldown: 00 seconds]
- Unique weapon, Dawn Sword activated.
Finally.
I let out a long breath.
At the same time, I holstered Jeong Ha-kyeong's pistol and dropped the flashlight.
“Yeah. World went to shit, like you said.”
Legal systems collapsed. Public authority, gone.
No way to judge perpetrators. No way to soothe victims' tears.
“Which is exactly why.”
Reality's this brutal──does that mean let scum like you roam free?
Hell no.
Can't stomach that. Not for a second.
Justice without action? Just a fantasy. So.
“I'm your judge.”
All or nothing.
A frozen hush, like icy thread piercing my veins.
Next instant.
Dawn's blaze erupted in my fist.
[Unique weapon equipped: Dawn Sword]
I kicked the ground ferociously, seized the hilt two-handed, yanked it apart sideways.
《First Liberation: Dawnlight Yeomyeong Sword》 activation motion.
[Unique skill, 《First Liberation: Dawnlight Yeomyeong Sword》 cast complete]
- Succession progress 10%: Duration (15) seconds.
Dawn's hymn roared like a gale.
The gale coalesced into a blood-red blade and a golden blade, blinding the world around me.
There──clear as day.
The trap banquet sprawled everywhere.
That kill zone.
I charged straight through.
Wires snagged my feet, traps crunched underfoot. But they didn't spring after I passed.
Exactly──they did, but slow. Excruciatingly slow.
This was the domain of 《First Liberation: Dawnlight Yeomyeong Sword》.
Here, all creation crawled. Normal speed? Just me.
Right on the money.
Super Acceleration pierced the World Cup Stadium Station trap field before──this would too.
──Pababat!
Some point.
I'd burrowed right behind it.
It whirled in panic, but even that turn lagged. To it, my rush was a blink.
“……Whaaaat iiiis thiiiis……”
When the mask finally faced me at last, I thought.
This ends now.
I crossed the twin blades──then swung.
Golden dawn sliced from the left, crimson from the right, burrowing into thick neck meat.
Severed straight to bone, shredded flesh and hide, blades bursting out both sides.
[Unique skill, 《First Liberation: Dawnlight Yeomyeong Sword》 expired.]
- Reuse count (0 / 1)
Time stasis──or acceleration──ended. The world reclaimed causality belatedly.
──Shaaaak!
The severed head rocketed skyward, spewing blood.
──Thud.
The body swayed limply before crumpling to the floor.
──Chaaaeng!
Dawn's twin blades merged back into fractured greatsword form in my grip, ringing pure and clear.
That's all I caught.
No time to gawk. Its trump card was incoming.
Iron needles streaking from every angle.
Massive stakes, chained to walls, hurtling my way.
Worst of all……
The ceiling, crumbling right now.
Traps in the ceiling too?
Total psycho. Planned to take us both out?
Its ace: drop the entire screening room. Could've been caught flat-footed. If not for.
[Exclusive skill, 《Shadow Lurk》 activated!]
Me holding Cha-Ratevil's power in reserve.
──Shuwaaaaak!
My body sucked into the shadows.
Damage immunity kicked in, vision flipped entirely. Surroundings went pitch-black.
At once, an eerie sensation enveloped me. Like drifting in a deep, lightless sea.
What…… from somewhere in this abyssal dark…… that mournful chant…… no way, Cha-Ratevil…… HIHAAAA…….
[Exclusive skill, 《Shadow Lurk》 expired.]
- Reuse count (1 / 2)
“Huhk!”
I gasped for air and blinked awake.
My fading awareness snapped back to normal in a flash.
……What the hell?
Breathing's off, but no busted body parts.
The bear trap that had my left arm on shadow entry? Gone.
Quick sweep with Dawn Sword──ruined screening room.
Ceiling collapse?
Up top, the second-floor game room peeked through.
Down below, debris blanketed everything──mad hunter's corpse nowhere in sight.
……Yeah. It's done.
No guilt over the kill surfaced.
Back in my police days, I'd seen these murderers as beasts, not people.
And it wasn't my first blood anyway.
“Haa.”
Tension uncoiled; I slumped to the floor.
Needed to regroup my body before moving again, even if just a moment.
No full rest planned, though──so I replayed the fight in my head.
《Second Liberation: Dawnlight Yeomyeong Sword》.
First go, and it was pathetically lacking, as expected.
The 'old master' landed over a hundred strikes in 15 seconds. Me? Barely……
Simple reason.
Time dilation was feeble compared to Cha-Ratevil's.
Think I get it.
Higher proficiency, slower the world crawls?
Exclusive skill, 《Shadow Lurk》.
This…… was pure nightmare fuel.
Felt like straight-up chatting with Cha-Ratevil.
Wanna rip this gear off right now──but the performance? Way too good.
[Hunt success: Otherworld hunter, 'Trap Hunter, Bartferot']
System voice pinged in my ear then.
[Special achievement unlocked: Hunter who Hunted a Hunter (22 / 100)]
I flinched.
……What'd it just say?
Otherworld? Otherworld hunter?
No. Impossible.
──Clack.
Soul stone clattered somewhere.
Tracked the sound──a metallic soul stone lay amid the rubble.
Picked it up, half in disbelief.
[Special material acquired: Trap Hunter, Bartferot's Soul Stone]
Chaos hit me.
No…… however I slice it, this is off.
Build matched ours, not some otherworlder. Korean flowed natural as hell from it……?
=====
[Trap Hunter, Bartferot's Soul Stone]
[Description Summary]
- 1: Spherical metallic gemstone
- 2: Remnants of a hunter who served the alchemist of Iron-Severing Star Altateron.
[Usage Method]
- Hand to the Star Messenger to forge equipment embodying the gem's power as your exclusive skill: 《Three Iron Deep Pit》.
[Exclusive Skill: 《Three Iron Deep Pit》]
- Deploy three traps imbued with Iron-Severing Star's authority.
- Duration: (3) hours / Charge count: (20)
=====
What truly rattled me.
Was the tooltip beneath the info window.