The Wind Cutter's Choice
Dmitri felt it in his bones.
The situation was over. The blue flames still blazing before him had neutralized Jang Gyesin completely.
*Blue Flame... That high-difficulty fire spell... so this is Lee Minsu again?*
When he had seen him again after such a long time, Dmitri had been stunned inside. The brightest prospect of his academy days had vanished into obscurity.
He had quietly returned to the hunter world. Of course his rank remained low, and he was just an operator. Because he had failed to adapt to the field, the talented youth had stagnated. Dmitri had thought that.
*No way. The hunter who can create that level of blue flame... no, not just blue flame...*
He was certain. Lee Minsu's combat instinct was exactly the same as during his Einse school days—the astonishing skill shown in the sparring matches.
He was not an ordinary B-rank hunter.
Dmitri's true feelings spoke. Right now Lee Minsu's strength had to be at least A-rank.
No matter how much he was holding back, the tactics he had just shown were at the very least equal to Dmitri's own. Or perhaps even better.
*Pretending to be cleverly pushed back... luring him with a pre-set fire spell trap...*
He had fought Jang Gyesin directly only moments earlier, so he knew.
The Evil Dragon's Horn. Its buff effect had let the chain-sickle attacks move at speeds no normal reaction could handle.
Even he, who could move at extreme speed with haste and wind magic, had eventually collapsed under that chain-sickle assault.
Therefore Lee Minsu's reaction speed had transcended even that of a top-tier mage.
*And the specters Jang Gyesin summoned... they were incredibly high-level necromancy...*
At that spot he had been on the verge of being sliced by those sinister, ghostly phantoms. Even an A-rank hunter like Dmitri felt genuine fear at their killing aura. Yet he could only inwardly acknowledge it.
More than anything, if Lee Minsu had not appeared, Dmitri would have died to that Jang Gyesin. His comrade, the female mage, had clearly been a mid-tier villain.
But the real danger was naturally Jang Gyesin. Especially the Evil Dragon's Horn he carried. That item was extremely perilous.
*If I had been even a little late and the horn had fused... he would have been a monster even So-so could not handle. Jang Gyesin is...*
Only then did he notice the young woman with black hair. Her beauty that had shaken a man's heart in an instant.
Simply watching the swordsmanship that had neutralized the female mage in a single instant let him know she was the successor of the Heavenly Demon.
*Still... this time Lee Minsu’s contribution is greater... So-so... me... damn it...*
Dmitri’s mind went hazy. And the wind of the Wind Cutter he had felt began to drift away from him.
He had cast his magic to let a sniper’s magic bullet strike Jang Gyesin, yet the Wind Cutter had apparently valued Lee Minsu more highly than him.
But the relief that he had lived or died mattered more than losing the A+ Ancient Gear contract.
*Still, since I helped capture Jang Gyesin, His Grace will probably forgive me...*
His head spun. He was bleeding heavily. He gathered all remaining mana and cast a self-healing spell on his body.
*This should... I won’t die.*
Just before he fainted, Dmitri unconsciously recalled the fire spell Lee Minsu had used last.
As a White Mage Tower mage he would never have admitted it was beautiful.
But it was certainly a spell so exquisite it could drive one mad.
***
*Ugh...*
I almost knelt. I barely stood. Heart burning, I clutched my chest.
I had used all the mana I could.
Half of it was built on Elder Yeon Moon-woo’s idea—the stealth trap. The other half had gone into pre-engraving the fire spell circuit on the trap so it would activate when needed.
The blue flame, with its RPM far higher than a normal circuit thanks to the trap, had shown its true power.
*Ugh... but I pushed it too far... the backlash is too strong because I used a strong spell...*
The most searing pain of all. It was burning beyond the mana heart into the mana roads.
*Calm... I have to calm down...*
The Wind Cutter was watching me. I could not show weakness before that arrogant gear.
*Haah... haah...*
Yet while I watched Jang Gyesin twitching on the floor, I could smile inside. That brat was still a villain connected to Red Lake.
Even if he was just a small fry, all villains connected to Red Lake were targets for my revenge.
I approached him and pulled the Evil Dragon's Horn, which exuded an ominous aura, from his side.
“Aaaah!!”
He screamed in agony. He was still alive.
*Because of this item, Jang Gyesin escaped instant death.*
I set the horn aside and asked him.
“Jang Gyesin. If you don’t want to die here, answer my questions honestly.”
“... W-what... shut up... your nonsense...”
With a voice as if air had been let out of a balloon, he spoke. I stepped on his palm with my foot.
“Kyaaah!!”
“Answer. I don’t feel like joking with you.”
“A hunter with a license committing murder like this...”
“You don’t know the law doesn’t care about that? Villains or not, the law forbids indiscriminate killing.”
This time I crushed his spine with my foot, making the pain even worse. Jang Gyesin twisted his body in agony.
As I said, a hunter with a license is forbidden from killing indiscriminately—even if he is a villain. In principle he must be turned over to the villain trial.
But in reality the law is meaningless. If you don’t want to die, you must kill your opponent. That has always been the rule in fights against villains.
To show my resolve I gathered all remaining mana and summoned the blue flame once more.
The searing pain that followed was beyond imagination. But I suppressed it as much as I could and threatened Jang Gyesin.
“If I bake you again you will definitely die instantly. Speak. Will you answer or not?”
“I-I’ll answer!!”
Jang Gyesin, sensing I was serious, finally lowered his tail. Time was short. If other hunters and guards came up to the rooftop, I would have to escort his corpse to the Association.
I asked him the most important question.
“Talhonma Seomun Yeom. Tell me exactly where that man is and what he is doing now.”
“N-no, I can’t...”
I brought the blue flame right in front of his eyes. Jang Gyesin screamed like a girl and finally surrendered.
“Talhonma... is... in Japan... Japan...”
“Japan is your family’s dojo? Be more specific.”
“Yo... Yokohama...”
“More.”
“The Tateyama-gumi... They collect monster byproducts there. I don’t know anything else!”
Tateyama-gumi. One of the yakuza syndicates in eastern Japan. Naturally a group that sided with villains and underworld hunters.
If Seomun Yeom was that big a figure, he would hold a significant position even in Red Lake. I had located the Red Lake executive.
*Good information.*
Jang Gyesin probably did not know more. Still, I did not want to spare him.
If I captured him alive and handed him to the Association, I could claim the bounty. And Flame Guild’s reputation would benefit.
Most of all, So-so had come up behind me and wrapped her arms around me.
“P-please! Seeing blood on my hands... I will do it! Stop overdoing it...”
So-so calmed me. Then, noticing my condition, she cried out in shock.
“Min-su, your body!!”
Her soft body pressed against my back. At that moment I fainted.
***
I woke up again.
Before I fainted I had been on the building rooftop, but now I was in a comfortable bed. Looking up, I saw a strange ceiling.
*No... that’s not right.*
I looked around. My luggage was there—the hotel where I had checked in before going to the exchange.
I did not remember how I had come here, but since So-so was fine, she must have told the Association people to move me.
The moment I felt her soft, warm body beside me, I instinctively turned my head.
*Why So-so?*
So-so lay right beside me. She was very close. I had been lying in a straight posture, but So-so clung tightly to me.
Her clothes had changed; she wore the hotel robe.
*Was there no... incident?*
My clothes had also been changed. Before I fainted the wild mana fluctuations of flame attribute had settled.
No pain remained. I remembered the time in Hong Kong when So-so had stabilized the mana flowing through my mana roads before I received the medical treatment.
*That time... So-so did it again?*
If so, I was fortunate. A-rank villain Jang Gyesin. Thinking back, I had pushed myself hard to capture him.
When I realized he was a necromancer who controlled specters, I had no choice.
*So-so was the most difficult opponent for her.*
We had successfully captured him and obtained crucial information about Seomun Yeom. The price I paid was more than enough.
*But like this I cannot fight properly.*
I had to get my hands on the Wind Cutter. Without the Ancient Gear’s stable effect, I might faint every time I used a spell.
Thinking about it, I wondered what the Wind Cutter had chosen.
Before I fainted I had heard Jang Gyesin’s laughter.
I had captured Jang Gyesin, so the gear had surely chosen me. Still, I had to wake So-so and ask her everything.
*But... why won’t you let go?*
My body was completely locked to So-so. I could barely move my face. My upper body was held by her arms, and my lower body was completely pinned by her legs and thighs.
The scent of a woman—and So-so’s own familiar smell—filled me completely.
*What is she thinking at a time like this?*
I had never thought of So-so that way. But So-so was not just beautiful; she was well-proportioned. She always drew men’s gazes.
Her breasts were firm, and her thighs pressed closely against me. I was troubled. I had no strength left to push her away.
I somehow summoned So-so and decided to wake her.
“Team Leader Yeon So-so?”
At that, So-so, whose eyes were hazy, opened them. Our eyes met.