Seeds of Conflict (7)

I shook the blood from Heoksikdo, and the fresh spray scattered across the floor.

"Hoo."

I steadied my breathing and looked around. The ground was littered with countless Pink Poker. It had been less than two hours since I’d entered Pig Room.

At first, there had only been one. Then two. Then four... The pigs doubled every time, multiplying at an absurd rate.

"How many are there, anyway?"

I tried counting them with the tip of my blade, then gave up. There was no point. I only had to check the window floating in the air.

I let out an involuntary laugh. Already over a thousand. Outside a gate, it was rare enough just to see this many monsters at once. Even if a wave broke out, there was no way one person could cut down a thousand in a single sweep.

Monsters never stayed still. They could lunge anywhere, any time.

Coordinating with other hunters, studying monster patterns, protecting civilians... there were too many things to keep track of. Pig Room was the exact opposite. The Pink Poker didn’t scatter or run; they charged with one thought in their heads and one thought only—killing me.

There was no one else here. Only one thing mattered.

Battle.

Hit, cut, kill... I could focus entirely on wiping the enemy out.

With the flapping ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠of wings, a shadow fell across the ground.

It wasn’t because of the clouds.

I looked up.

Countless bodies blotted out the sky.

This time there were as many as 1,024.

Pink pigs with cute little wings hovered before settling to the ground. As if enraged by the deaths of their kin, every one of them gripped a war axe and snorted through dripping nostrils.

I'm shaking.

Had I ever fought this many monsters all at once before?

The air went taut with the killing intent radiating from the Pink Poker. Even if they were only Collapse-class and Ruin-class monsters, I couldn’t afford to let my guard down.

Na Sang-min always said, "Even if your opponent's weaker than you, don't let your guard down. In a battlefield, the moment you lose focus, your head comes off in a heartbeat."

One Pink Poker raised its war axe.

I drove Heoksikdo into its jaw.

From below, I angled the blade upward, and the thing was skewered on the tip like a piece of meat on a stick.

"Kkueeik?!"

The one with a hole punched through its skull collapsed.

That ambush was the signal.

The pigs surged all at once.

Heads, arms, ribs, thighs, ankles... massive axes came flying in from every direction.

I deflected the attacks with White Revenge in my left hand.

Clang! Clang-clang! Clang!!!!

Lightly block them with Ganro-ryu, then—

I twisted my body and gripped Heoksikdo with my right hand.

"Severing Cut, First Form."

The basic form of Ilcheon-illyu.

A technique for swiftly cutting down an enemy.

Pink Poker were cleaved clean in two.

That left 1,022.

At this rate, this’ll never end.

In moments like this—

"Severing Cut, Third Form."

One swing of the sword, and three Pink Poker fell at once. It looked like a single blow, but in truth, it was a mystery technique that unleashed three separate slashes. An intermediate art of Ilcheon-illyu.

For the record, I’d once seen Na Sang-min use Severing Cut, Ninth Form.

Every time he swung his blade, Pink Poker fell like leaves in an autumn wind.

So Na Sang-min wasn't wrong.

This was how you won against the many.

One... one monster at a time, cut them down one by one.

I drove my momentum harder.

I moved without stopping for more than thirty minutes.

"Huff. Huhh!"

My breath was climbing all the way up into my throat.

Sweat and blood were crossing paths in the air.

In this moment, when my mind began to drift...

Ah. This feels good.

My head cleared, and my body's rhythm turned light and quick.

It was the effect that came after slaughtering a huge number of monsters.

Monster High.

In my past life, I’d done nothing but lie in bed after work.

"Severing Cut, Fourth Form!"

I believed there was nothing I could change, so I gave up on everything.

"Severing Cut, Fifth Form!!"

And because of that, I lived a helpless life, one day after another.

My body moved on its own, whirling the blade in a kind of dance.

"Severing Cut, Sixth Form!!!"

In fierce combat, with death at my side, I felt alive at last.

Life was...

How terribly paradoxical.

I lowered my stance and slid Heoksikdo back into its sheath.

This was Ilcheon-illyu's desperate technique—drawing and striking in the same instant.

"Yeomhwa!"

As I drew the blade, flames flared along the tip of Heoksikdo.

The Pink Poker flinched in surprise.

Na Sang-min could unleash Yeomhwa like a blast of compressed air, striking long-range targets at will.

I just have to do the same!

The red flame swept out in a half-moon arc.

But before long, the fire went pfft and died.

The smell of grilling pork filled the air.

One Pink Poker was scorched black.

"...."

That was it.

The ones behind it were untouched.

My attempt at a one-hit kill through a slash was still incomplete.

I scratched my head, a little embarrassed.

"Tch. Still not there yet."

No matter how much momentum I had, Na Sang-min's wall was high.

So this isn't something I can learn overnight.

There was no reason to be discouraged.

One day, I would become someone just as strong as Na Sang-min.

No, I would definitely.

I would surpass him.

* * *

"Man, I'm dying here."

I flopped onto the floor.

Before I knew it, night had fallen.

Moonlight spilled down from the sky.

My whole body was soaked through with sweat.

Once the Monster High faded, my endorphins crashed with it.

My muscles screamed in protest from head ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠to toe.

Pink Poker were flying around overhead like a murder of crows.

"You little bastards are disgusting."

I didn't even have the strength to keep hold of my sword.

My throat was dry and raw.

I was aching for a cold beer.

But I couldn’t stop.

"Ha. Not even halfway there yet."

The words escaped me with a sigh.

It felt like someone had thrown a soaked comforter over my body. If I closed my eyes now, I’d sink straight into a deep sleep.

The pigs surrounded me.

I don’t ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠even know how many there are anymore.

All I knew was that they were enough to fill the vast plain.

"Heh."

A bitter laugh slipped out.

Had I underestimated Pig Room?

Breaking one chopstick was easy.

But snapping thousands of chopsticks bundled together was never easy.

"Kkueeik!!"

"Kkueeek!!!"

The pigs thundered toward me.

I pushed myself halfway upright, clenched my fist, and slammed it into the ground.

BOOM!

Along with a thick burst of mist, chunks of pig flesh rained down like blood-soaked sleet.

I hadn’t even used a sword.

"Whew."

I whistled.

The force was beyond anything I'd shown before.

That means I’ve gotten that much stronger.

Hero abilities grew in proportion to my growth.

Dozens of pigs were wiped out in an instant, but there were still endless numbers left.

Cheating was fine once. That was enough.

I wasn't going to spend any more money.

"Ugh."

I picked up my swords in both hands and squeezed out the last of my strength.

Then the mad slaughter began.

Cut, cut, cut, and cut again.

Cut, cut, and cut again...!

"Kyaaaek!!!"

The pigs' shrieks rang out like a requiem.

One leg went weak beneath me, and I dropped to one knee.

"Ghk!"

I barely managed to settle my center of gravity again.

I hadn’t taken a fatal wound, but scratches had been carved into every part of my body.

The palm gripping my sword was burning.

My fingers were trembling.

My wrists and elbows creaked in their joints.

A sweet, metallic taste filled my mouth, and every breath sent a sting through my throat.

It hurts. This is way too hard...

I clenched my teeth so hard they hurt.

I can’t give up.

From here on out, it was a battle of willpower.

I could feel it every time.

The fight against monsters was only secondary.

What mattered was...

my fight against myself!

What had once felt like an endless hell was finally nearing its final curtain.

I glanced to the side.

Near the shrine, a passage leading back outside had appeared.

The Mountain Gate opened once at noon, then again at midnight.

So twelve hours have passed.

Coming to Pig Room had been the best choice I could have made.

I could have gotten out right then and there... but I didn’t stop.

I kept attacking wildly, like a typhoon tearing through the place.

The mission had already ended.

Was this meaningless?

No.

I’d been trapped in a vicious slump lately.

How was I supposed to push beyond my limits?

I don’t know.

I didn’t have some exceptional talent.

But the one thing I could say with confidence was this.

Perseverance.

Sometimes I’d be frustrated.

Sometimes I’d be desperate.

But I’d get back up and keep walking.

Like some famous writer had said.

Without hope and without despair.

I just keep moving forward.

There was a taste of blood in my mouth.

The world before me went white and hazy.

"Graaah!!!"

I screamed at the top of my lungs.

When I came to my senses, I was standing atop a mountain of Pink Poker corpses.

Blood dripped steadily from the two swords that had become one with my body.

When I realized I’d surpassed the mission by more than double, I caught onto the anomaly.

Mana is overflowing from my body.

It was that momentary afterglow hunters experienced every time they advanced a step.

Finally. A-class.

My chest swelled with satisfaction, and tears blurred my vision.

The Pink Poker were still climbing over the mountain of dead pigs to get at me.

I wiped away my tears and forced myself out of the moment.

"No more. Retreat!"

I stomped over pig heads and ran.

Then I burst through the door flashing with light and escaped Pig Room.

Beautiful stained glass glittered in the sunset.

A crucifix showing Jesus wearing a laurel wreath was mounted on the wall.

Somewhere inside the holy cathedral, the sound of prayer echoed softly.

"Oh, Lord. Please forgive me."

The man was large, in a black suit, with a scarred face.

This dark-skinned man was the boss of Dark Alliance.

He was known by the nickname Black Bear.

A moment later, someone else entered the cathedral.

He was a middle-aged man in casual training clothes and sneakers.

Black Bear bowed his head in greeting.

"You've come, Commissioner."

The middle-aged man was Park Nam-yong, the Seoul Police Commissioner.

He was small in build, but his sly expression and sharp eyes were intense.

"What’s this? Do villains pray too?"

Park Nam-yong sneered.

"Of course. I’ve got a conscience too, so I confess and repent after I do bad things."

After the pointless exchange of greetings, the two men got down to business.

"How are you going to handle the Firefighters' Rally this time?"

"Well, just like always, I’ll do whatever you tell me to, Commissioner."

"Hmph."

Park Nam-yong stroked his chin.

It was no secret that corrupt police had joined hands with villains.

But that was only a hidden truth.

Officially, the two of them were never, ever supposed to meet in private.

"Send your people in secretly. If anything happens, crush it immediately."

Park Nam-yong didn’t like the idea of firefighters banding together and standing up to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the police.

Especially not if thousands of people gathered in Gwanghwamun to hold a rally.

"How many men do you want me to send?"

"Hmm, about a hundred? That should be enough, right?"

Black Bear nodded.

"More than enough."

Dark Alliance was a group made up of awakened people.

Even if their underlings were low-ranked, the difference was obvious when they went into battle against ordinary civilians.

"Those stupid firefighter bastards. How dare they look down on the police of the Republic of Korea? We need to show them what happens so they never get ideas again."

Park Nam-yong grumbled as he lifted his chin.

"If they don't know their place and start running wild, beat them like dogs on the hottest day of summer. Crush them for good."

"Understood."

"We can win, right?"

"Don’t worry. Even if we only send fifty of our men, it’ll be a landslide. If we send a hundred..."

Black Bear bared his gold teeth and grinned.

"Unless there’s an S-class hunter among the firefighters, they won’t stand a chance."