Chapter 27
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: Chae Seol-ah and the Bizarre Shopping Trip (2)
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Right after making up her mind, Chae Seol-ah dashed to the glass railing and leaned over to peer down at the lower floors of the department store.
“Kyaaah!”
“Uwaaah!”
“Run away!”
Far below, black beasts were climbing the escalators like stairs, hunting down people.
After eyeing the black beasts, Chae Seol-ah came to a conclusion.
‘They’re all coming up from the first floor.’
No black beasts had ever come down from above, so her guess was surely spot on.
That meant she only had to worry about the ones down below.
‘If I can just keep the ones below from coming up…’
Then she could save the civilians.
With that thought, Chae Seol-ah leaned against the railing and began sniping the black beasts riding the escalators one by one with her magic.
Kieek!
Keek!
Maybe it was because she was shooting calmly from up high. The arrows of light she conjured pierced the black beasts with unerring accuracy.
The fallen black beasts mysteriously dissolved into smoke and vanished, leaving behind only crimson cores.
‘Are those the cores the manual told me to collect?’
The manual’s strategy had mentioned a barrier sorcerer, too. This was clearly no ordinary gate break incident.
It was more likely a terrorist act by the Black Magician.
But she had no time for deductions right now.
Chae Seol-ah vaulted over the glass railing and dropped down to the floor below. She immediately started helping the civilians evacuate.
“This way! Head up to the sixth floor!”
“Th-thank you!”
She guided bewildered people wandering the store toward the upper floors.
“Ugh… ugh…”
“Are you okay?”
“Y-yeah… thank you…!”
She rescued those under attack by the black beasts.
And all the while, she didn’t forget to collect the cores.
After quite some time had passed.
‘I… I did it!’
She’d saved more people than she’d expected.
With a National Power-level Hunter like Kim Hyun up on the higher floors, the civilians she’d sent upward would surely be safe.
Now all that was left was…
“……”
Chae Seol-ah swallowed dryly as she gazed at the cores she’d gathered.
She recalled the manual’s strategy once more.
[Destroy 27 cores from the monsters inside the barrier, grind them into powder, and form them into stakes. Use those stakes to kill the barrier sorcerer, and you can escape.]
She had exactly 27 cores right now. She could grind them into powder and make stakes anytime.
‘Maybe… I could do it all by myself…’
Chae Seol-ah’s eyes trembled faintly.
After a moment’s hesitation, she shook her head vigorously and steeled herself.
‘What am I even thinking?’
She was weak.
Stepping up would just get in the way and lead to a pointless death.
‘Seol-ah. Just do what you can.’
And right now, what she could do was deliver the core stakes to Kim Hyun.
Of course, it didn’t seem like she’d need them herself… but you never knew with these things.
Just as Chae Seol-ah turned to go.
“Kyaaah!”
A bloodcurdling scream echoed from far away.
She kicked off the ground and raced toward it.
‘What I can do.’
Defeating black beasts and saving civilians—that much.
Even someone worthless like her could manage that.
So this time, too, she had to succeed no matter what.
Thud thud thud!
Chae Seol-ah slid through the cosmetics section like a pro, then sprang to her feet. She whipped her head around, searching for the source of the scream.
And there it was.
“……!”
A shaggy-haired man holding a woman’s face in one hand, stabbing her body repeatedly with a blade.
“Mmph! Mmph! Mmmph!”
The woman thrashed her limbs wildly despite her mouth being covered, but the man’s stabbing didn’t stop.
Only when she went limp did he finally yank the knife out and whip his head around.
His cold gaze, devoid of any humanity, swept over Chae Seol-ah.
A chill ran down her spine. She instinctively stepped back.
Meanwhile, the man tossed the corpse to the floor and fiddled with the smartwatch on his wrist.
Soon, Chae Seol-ah’s photo appeared on his smartwatch.
“……Found you.”
The man grinned ear to ear.
Hwang Yu-hyun slumped to the floor, catching her breath which was ragged up to her chin.
Jeong Jin-woo, collapsed beside her, panted as he asked,
“You think this spot’s safe?”
“……Yeah.”
“What makes you say that? Well, it does feel safer, I guess…”
Jeong Jin-woo glanced at the civilians piling debris onto the escalator to build a barricade.
He wasn’t sure if that would stop the black beasts, but it had to be safer than down below.
But Hwang Yu-hyun shook her head firmly.
“Not because of that junk.”
She snuck a peek at Kim Hyun.
Even in this chaos, he was quietly napping in the massage chair. It was like he existed in a world all his own.
‘Well, that’s probably true.’
A National Power-level Hunter’s view of the world had to be worlds apart from an ordinary person’s.
At that moment.
“Run!”
“No, don’t!”
“The monster’s coming up!”
The barricade area erupted in commotion.
A black beast was apparently trying to break through and climb up. Jeong Jin-woo jumped to his feet in panic.
“Shit, we’re screwed. Let’s head up again.”
“No, we’re staying right here.”
“What? Are you crazy? There’s a monster coming!”
“Ugh, just wait a sec!”
And soon enough, the black beast breached the barricade and set foot on the sixth floor. It growled, head swiveling as if ready to pounce on any civilian at a moment’s notice.
Its gaze eventually settled on Kim Hyun in the massage chair.
And then.
Kiiing! Ngh!
As if suddenly terrified, the black beast started whimpering.
It slowly backed away.
Before long, it fled back down to the lower floor—practically bolting from the spot.
Jeong Jin-woo stared in utter confusion at the inexplicable scene.
“Wh-what the hell?”
“Told you.”
Hwang Yu-hyun smirked at him.
“This is the safest spot.”
“Found you, gi—…?”
Chae Seol-ah muttered, peeling her parched lips apart.
“You were… looking for me?”
The man nodded with a cackle.
“Yeah. I came looking for you.”
“Th-then all this is…”
Chae Seol-ah clutched her forehead and staggered.
Her pupils vibrated wildly.
The man drove the point home, staring at her like he was hammering in a wedge.
“That’s right. It’s all because of you. We did this to kill you.”
Her mind went blank.
‘All these people died because of me.’
Something shattered deep in her chest.
Grit!
Chae Seol-ah ground her teeth and looked up.
“You filthy scum…!”
“Oh? I figured your mind would snap and you’d collapse, but you’re getting pissed instead?”
The man scratched his cheek.
“According to the intel, you should’ve broken down by now.”
“I’ll kill you!”
Chae Seol-ah swung her hand.
Arrows of light materialized around her instantly.
“Die!”
The arrows launched one by one from her fingertips.
“Right on the money again.”
The arrows flying at him.
The man casually swatted them away with a flick of his wrist.
“Your magic’s trash.”
“Shut your mouth!”
Chae Seol-ah snarled.
The man leered at her like she was adorable.
“How the hell did you even snag an A-Rank with that kind of power?”
“……Shut up!”
Chae Seol-ah summoned a flaming spear and hurled it.
The man caught the incoming spear and flung it aside.
“Guess that manual thing’s the real deal, huh?”
The next instant, he kicked off the ground.
In the blink of an eye, he closed in and booted Chae Seol-ah.
The immense force folded her body in a V.
Thud!
She smashed through display cases in a flash.
Bam!
Then slammed into the wall.
“……Kuhk!”
The impact made her vomit blood as she crumpled.
Pain like her whole body was breaking seized her.
“Agh…!”
As she writhed on the floor, the man approached and stomped on her head.
“Looks like the manual didn’t teach you about that one.”
“Yo-you…”
“Still got some fight in that mouth, huh.”
The man shrugged, grabbed her by the scruff of the neck, and hoisted her up to meet his eyes.
His eerie pupils curved into crescents.
“Well, since I found you early, wanna have some fun first?”
The moment he drew a dagger from his belt.
“That’s far enough.”
A voice came from behind him.
The man turned.
In the distance, a sinister-faced woman in a black hood leaned on a staff as she approached.
The woman clicked her tongue.
“No time to waste. Team 1’s probably got this area surrounded by now. If you wanna get out with all your limbs intact, kill her quick and scram.”
The man grumbled in disappointment.
“Tch. We’re surrounded anyway—might as well have some fun. It’s not like the enemies are getting stronger.”
“If the Management Bureau calls in backup from the guilds, we’re in trouble. And…”
She glanced up at the ceiling.
“And?”
“……I’ve got a seriously bad feeling.”
“You do have good instincts. Fine, we’ll do it your way.”
The man turned back to Chae Seol-ah.
“Guess our time together ends here.”
“……”
“But since I’m letting you go easy, don’t hold it against me!”
With that, he raised the dagger.
And then.
Slash!
The wrist holding the dagger flew off into the air.
“Huh?”
The man’s eyes went wide.
The next moment, the hand gripping Chae Seol-ah’s neck was severed too. Sensing the danger, he leaped back swiftly.
Frowning, the man regenerated his wrist.
“What the—?”
“It’s Kim Hyun.”
Kim Hyun crossed his arms lazily.
“You dare touch what’s mine?”
Slowly, the corner of her mouth twisted up.
“Then you die.”