The Assassin Hunter Stops Time
“Antonio?”
“What, is he jerking off in the room? Hehe.”
Blond hair, green eyes. A scar slicing across his left cheek gave the man an imposing look. The mercenary lying on the ground laughed and pushed himself up. He couldn’t even properly meet the eyes of the man in front of him, but Antonio wasn’t staying in a room just because of that. Moreover, the guy had a weird quirk—he even banned anyone from coming within a minimum radius of him unless it was a strict perimeter guard. “He’s such a solitary, arrogant prick. In the end, whether it’s that bastard or us, we’re all just mercs eating and living the same way.”
“Still, his skill is real.”
“Hmph! We have enough people among ourselves. And honestly, Logan, even you are plenty.”
“Billy, don’t say that in front of Antonio.”
The man called Billy scrunched his face and shot up from his seat. Then he turned to Logan and said, “Honestly, your skill isn’t that much lower than Antonio’s. But the fact that only he gets that special treatment grates on me. No sense of professionalism, and he does whatever the hell he wants.”
Billy’s complaints about Antonio poured out like a machine gun, as if the resentment that had been building up for a long time had finally spilled over. Logan shook his head. “I get it, so keep that tension up. The Libyan government seems fishy lately.”
“Hehehehehe. Logan Pierce is watching out for it. What can even a collapsing government do?”
Knock, knock. At that moment, a soft knock sounded, and the door opened. On the tray were a glass of water and a few white pills beside it. Logan frowned. “What is this?”
“I-It’s an errand from Mr. Billy Hunter.”
She was a small-statured young Asian girl. Because of her Asian face, it was impossible to guess her age, but her voice was clearly childlike. Logan glanced at the white pills on the tray and looked at Billy. “Don’t tell me you’ve gotten involved with that thing?”
“Whoa, calm down. You wouldn’t do something crazy like that in front of me, right?”
Billy stood up and gripped his groin tightly. “Damn it, I’ve been using it way too much lately, so my baby’s not as strong as it used to be. We’re gonna fight later, and if I die halfway, it’ll be a total waste.”
He meant something like Viagra, a medication for erectile dysfunction. Logan let out a sigh. “Whatever you do is your business, but don’t break the rules.”
“Hehe, don’t worry.”
Billy dumped the pills from the girl into his mouth and gulped them down with the water. Then he told the girl, “Go now.”
“Yes, master.”
Once the girl left, Billy looked at Logan and said, “Training every day is good, but do it while you still enjoy it. After you die, your body will just rot anyway, so you should enjoy the hell out of it while you can, right?”
“You do the same.”
Logan turned and was about to leave the room.
Just then, a thunderous boom and shockwave came from a distance. Logan and Billy rushed outside, and they saw the direction the sound had come from. “That’s… Antonio’s room!”
Wiiiing! Wiiiing! Alarms blared, and the mercenaries inside the building all came pouring out. Mercenaries holding AK rifles and machine guns sprinted toward the sound. In that sight, “Logan.”
“We’re moving too.”
If there was this much chaos coming from Antonio’s location, “Bang!”
In an instant, the two men moved with blinding speed. What the hell was going on? * * *
Thwack! It was a plain straight punch. But the guy was different. “It feels like…”
Dojin had dodged plenty of attacks by reading them with his eyes, but something else stood out in Antonio’s attack. Whoosh! Swoosh!
A sonic boom like the air had torn. The crude brass knuckle made of iron could still cause serious damage if it landed. As Dojin quickly backed away, “Hey, friend. You planning to keep running away?”
Dojin narrowed his eyes at Antonio’s words. The body had adapted a little to the abnormal movements, but, “It’s about time.”
Antonio’s right fist stopped mid-swing, then immediately he swung it upward toward Dojin’s jaw. Thwack! A graze to the forehead. The corner of Antonio’s mouth lifted slightly—not because he had almost hit, and not because he felt sorry. “This kid…”
The fist had passed right in front of his nose, yet Dojin was staring straight back without even blinking. “And…”
The more time passed, the harder it became to track. In other words, he was adapting to Dojin’s movements. Antonio’s eyes sparkled. Where the hell had this kind of guy even come from? He hadn’t seen anyone like this even on this monstrous floor. It was like, “You.”
Antonio’s expression darkened. He was smiling, but his eyes weren’t. It had started as a bit of fun, but now he had drawn out Antonio’s true self. “You have a dangerous scent.”
Like me. Antonio swallowed the rest. He felt like he had met his own kind. Soon Antonio began to draw in power. “From now on, it’ll be a little different.”
Bang! Thwack! Swoosh! Thwack! The speed of the consecutive punches was getting faster. But… Thud!
Dojin calmly dodged and slipped into Antonio’s embrace. Dojin’s body had closed the distance in the blink of an eye, and Antonio’s eyes widened. “You bastard!”
Antonio’s fist stabbed downward toward Dojin, who had lowered his stance. Bang! At that instant, “Night Walker.”
Dojin’s figure vanished like it had split into two. Antonio’s face hardened. Clearly this skill was, “Night Walker?”
But the feeling was different from the one he knew. It was the basic skill gained when agility reached 300. Antonio had it too, but he couldn’t move like this even while using Night Walker. It felt like he was disappearing. Whoosh… Whoosh!
But there was no time to think long. As soon as Antonio sensed the movement from his left rear, he spun his body right and wrapped his left arm around Dojin’s inner arm. “I’ll slam you into the ground!”
It was a lightning-fast move, like a world-class judo master throwing an ippon. He grabbed the left arm Dojin was holding a branch with and slammed his shoulder into the armpit. “Got you!”
Antonio was certain and slammed the kid straight to the ground. But just as he was about to do it, “Tremble!”
“Cough!”
Instantly, the pain felt from his hand weakened the grip he had been holding. In that split second, whoosh! Thud!
Dojin slipped free and landed cat-like ten meters away. Antonio’s expression was bewildered. “…Hah?”
In such a short time, “…”
Antonio looked at the wound on the back of his left hand. It wasn’t a penetration, but blood was still flowing from a fairly deep gash. Antonio brushed his bangs up. “This is… I shouldn’t be doing this.”
His blood was boiling. As Antonio’s eyes, which had gradually turned serious, focused on Dojin, the latter caught his breath for a moment and watched the man. “Around us…”
The air had changed. It felt like strange currents were swirling around Antonio. Dojin immediately understood, “This guy…”
He was serious now. So far, his attacks had lacked any killing intent or genuine feeling. It had been like testing him. If it wasn’t, Dojin wouldn’t have been able to take the attack so easily. “I might have to gamble my life.”
Who would have thought he’d meet Antonio here and end up in this situation. Dojin threw the branch he was holding and drew Arkal’s Wrath. It was a bit of a pity for Antonio who wasn’t wearing any gear, but given the situation, he couldn’t hide it. Whoosh. Dojin lightly pushed forward with his foot and lowered his stance. He would be hit if he tried to run. “I suspect…”
Maybe I can even see that technique with my own eyes. Meteor Fist. Antonio’s finishing move, where he concentrated all his power into his fist and poured in unimaginable one-hit damage. To normal hunters, a finishing move would be described as a powerful technique. But for Antonio, Meteor Fist was truly a Deathblow. Dojin focused on Antonio. The power gathering in his fists like smoke was already spewing out enough to make breathing feel difficult. Even though they were separated by distance, to a hunter this was something that could be closed in the blink of an eye. And… “Hey, Korean friend. It might be hard, but I hope you don’t die. I kind of like you.”
With those words, Antonio charged at Dojin. His movement closing the distance in the blink of an eye was so fast even Dojin had trouble following. However, Dojin recalled Antonio’s fighting style. It had quite a bit of randomness mixed in, but, “This attack will be full of confidence.”
He wouldn’t mix any randomness at all. Although he didn’t know much about him, he knew this guy had high self-esteem and was overconfident. Such a person wouldn’t mix randomness in this attack. “First attack.”
Just that one shot. All he had to do was dodge it. As Antonio moved, Dojin said, “Time Distortion.”
He slowed the surrounding time and looked at Antonio’s fist. Chest. The fist aimed perfectly at the left side of his chest, where his heart should be, shot out straight. And that fist, Dojin lowered his stance and, “Crash!”
He slammed the ground hard and accelerated. If he dodged backward, he would die without even trying. To block that attack, he had to collide and absorb the shock. “If it’s a weapon made with Arkal’s fangs,”
It would be enough to endure. Dojin stared directly at Antonio’s fist coming straight at him in a line. Even with Time Distortion slowing time, the speed was insane. In that fleeting moment of time, “Boom!”
Dojin’s dagger and Antonio’s fist collided, unleashing an enormous sound. CRRRRRRRRRR! The nearby walls collapsed with a roar, and the floor shook violently. An attack carrying unbelievable destructive power. Pain throbbed from the wrist holding the dagger. It wasn’t broken, but it felt like cracks had appeared in the wrist bone. But… “Hah… ha.”
From his right fist to his shoulder, Antonio was soaked in blood and let out a hollow laugh as if he couldn’t believe the situation. He had wanted to avoid death, but, “Did you… dodge it?”
My strike? Meteor Fist? It could have been the reason he hadn’t worn any gear, but he didn’t want to make an excuse. He didn’t need to. He was already strong enough. Even up to now, he hadn’t been able to block this strike, and the few who survived were ones he could count on one hand. Even if it wasn’t 100% power, “Now I feel the pain from the wound on my arm spreading through my nerves.”
Antonio muttered while looking at his blood-soaked arm. “It was clearly…”
It had been an extremely fleeting moment, but he felt like something different had slowed him down along with an alien sensation. No, more precisely, the world itself. He never thought he could break the power condensed in the fist. Antonio looked at Dojin. “Korean friend. What’s the purpose of coming here? Did you come to destroy this drug factory?”
“I came to look for a person. A girl around 14 years old.”
“Korean?”
“Yes.”
At Dojin’s answer, Antonio suddenly recalled one person. He wasn’t the type to pay attention to others, but there was only one Asian girl on this site. Antonio said, “If it’s that girl, she’s probably doing odd jobs at the building over there. I don’t know her age, but there’s only one Asian around here.”
“You’ll send her?”
“What… She came here not to interfere with my business, so do I really need to keep going?”
Antonio made a listless expression. If he had his way, he wanted to keep fighting, but given how much shock he’d just taken, all the others would be flooding here soon. “Moreover…”
Later he wanted to wear proper gear and fight for real. It had been a long time since he’d felt his blood boil like this. At Antonio’s words, Dojin looked at him a little surprised. He hadn’t expected him to send him off so easily. But Antonio said, “Soon other awakened ones and mercenaries will swarm here. You’d better hurry.”
“…”
Dojin immediately turned his body. And at that moment, “Hey, Korean friend!”
At Antonio’s call, Dojin stopped and turned his head. Antonio asked, “What’s your name?”
“Ha Dojin.”
With the answer, Dojin sprinted toward the building Antonio had mentioned. The sight of Dojin disappearing so quickly that he was no longer visible, “Korea, Ha Dojin.”
Antonio repeated it to himself as if he would never forget. It seemed they would meet again someday.