Clash (3)
A thick haze of smoke hung over the asphalt.
Bippi flapped its wings and landed beside me.
“Master! I did good, right?”
Like a child hungry for praise, Bippi poked its head toward me. I reached out and scratched under its chin.
Thanks to Bippi, I’d been able to fly straight here through the crowd in one shot.
I hesitated for a moment.
Wouldn’t it be better to fight together with Bippi after all?
Then I shook the thought away.
No. That’s dangerous.
As a rule, monsters couldn’t set foot in the human world.
Because they were a threat to humans, they were considered targets for extermination.
The only exceptions were cases where humans and monsters could communicate, like druids, or when a human had the power to dominate a monster.
Even then, it had to be reported to the Hunter Association in advance, and it required regular updates and strict supervision.
I’d brought Bippi here without permission.
Which made it blatantly illegal.
If an unregistered monster had appeared, hunters might be dispatched to wipe it out.
The wyvern was a Ruin-class monster.
It had enough power to stand its ground against just about any hunter.
What worried me, though, was this.
I heard something explode far off in the distance.
I could feel an enormous surge of mana from that direction.
That side was…
Where Na Sang-min was.
If an S-class monster like Na Sang-min came charging over, the Silver Frenzy Spear would lop Bippi’s head off in one clean strike before it ever had a chance to run.
“We’re going with a guerrilla operation. Stay hidden until I give the signal.”
“Yes, sir!”
Bippi shot up into the clouds.
There were almost no hunters who could freely fly through the air, so Bippi should be safe enough.
That left just one thing.
I lifted my gaze and looked straight ahead.
The firefighters and the villains were all staring at me now.
The firefighters muttered among themselves.
“Isn’t that…”
“That wanted criminal?”
“The Purple Devil?”
Thanks to the Red Moon incident, the Purple Devil had become a public name.
And right now, I was a fugitive wearing a purple mask.
A wanted criminal, huh.
The square in Gwanghwamun was packed with police, firefighters, and countless reporters.
Seeing a scoop in front of them, every camera swung toward me.
The firefighter rally was being broadcast live.
My masked face would spread across the entire country in minutes.
Did I feel intimidated? Did I shrink back?
Not a chance.
It was exactly what I wanted.
The Police-Fire War was the Purple Devil’s official debut stage.
It was time to show the world that a hero existed who punished evil.
The police commander spotted me and spoke into his radio to someone nearby.
Then he pointed at me.
“That man is a Class-1 wanted criminal who threatens the safety of civilians and public order! Arrest him at once!”
Serial murder, terrorism, large-scale fraud, and more.
A Class-1 wanted criminal meant a severely dangerous felon.
In other words, they were saying I was more dangerous than the villains.
What a joke.
A dry laugh rose in my throat.
A police force colluding with villains, talking about civilian safety. It was the purest black comedy.
“Crush the illegal protest and take that bastard down!”
The order was given, and at once armed police officers rushed me.
Time to warm up, I guess.
I grabbed the heads of the two officers charging at me and slammed them together at chest level.
Their helmets shattered into pieces, and both of them collapsed to the ground.
It wasn’t even enough to count as a warm-up.
Pathetic.
When you’re fighting many opponents, the method is simple: take them down one by one.
But the problem was this.
There were already thousands of police officers packed into Gwanghwamun Square.
If I try to handle them one at a time, this will never end.
What I had to do was more important than subduing the police.
“……Damn it.”
“Those guys are dead!”
The villains stared at their companions, who had been burned black.
They didn’t look sorrowful so much as stunned.
Out of a hundred of them, ten had been turned into kindling in an instant.
They’d probably started to realize it now.
If they didn’t attack first, they’d be the ones getting hit.
“Kill that purple-headed bastard.”
The villains tightened their grips on their tools and glared at me.
I should be dealing with those bastards first.
There was no way I could handle villains and police all by myself.
While I was thinking it over, someone approached me.
“Um… excuse me, sir.”
I turned my head.
It was a man in a firefighter’s uniform.
Three Taegeuk hexagrams were stamped on his chest.
Han Jong-il.
I’d seen him on the news.
So he was the man in charge of this whole Police-Fire War.
“I don’t know who you are, but… would you help us?”
There were no awakened ones among the firefighters.
They were short on the power needed to stand against villains who controlled mana.
Han Jong-il lowered his gaze.
Nearby, firefighters who’d been cut down by the villains lay bleeding on the ground.
“Those men are like my own sons. I can’t let those demon bastards make them suffer.”
Han Jong-il clenched his jaw and made a fist so tight it shook.
His body trembled.
With his face bent low, drops that might have been sweat or tears kept falling to the pavement.
It wasn’t an act.
The man’s affection for the firefighters, his desperation to protect his comrades, looked more sincere than anything I’d seen all day.
Han Jong-il lifted his head and looked me dead in the eye.
His bloodshot eyes burned with rage.
“We don’t think we’re justice. And we’re not saying we’re always right. But I’m certain their actions are wrong.”
I agreed completely.
People who screamed that money wasn’t important were usually the ones most obsessed with it.
I didn’t trust anyone who preached justice.
I’d never once met a truly righteous person among those who talked about righteousness.
I remembered the conversation I’d had with Na Sang-min.
“Who’s Hunter-nim on, then? The police? Or the firefighters?”
“Hah. What are you, a kid? Don’t go picking sides. I’m on nobody’s side.”
I thought differently.
If our beliefs matched…
“Fine. I’ll be on your side.”
Then I added,
“For today, anyway.”
Han Jong-il seemed to understand my intent, and his expression hardened as he raised his voice.
“All firefighters, listen up! We’re joining forces with the Purple Devil and fighting with everything we’ve got!”
Veins stood out in Han Jong-il’s neck.
“First In, Last Out!”
The firefighters shouted as if they’d rehearsed it.
“First In! Last Out!”
It was the signature slogan of Korean firefighters.
They went in first and came out last.
It was a cry shaped by their sense of duty, by the determination to save as many precious lives as possible.
The thing more dangerous than a Class-1 wanted criminal isn’t the Purple Devil, and it isn’t the villains.
It’s the corrupt police.
If we let them run wild.
If the firefighters lost here.
Then we couldn’t guarantee public order or civilian safety anymore.
The firefighters raised their axes and stepped forward, one pace at a time.
“First In!”
“Last Out!”
Those thunderous roars carried a resolve that said they wouldn’t retreat anymore.
Even if they had to lose their lives.
Before I knew it, the firefighters had stretched out in a long line on either side of me, as if guarding me.
Blue police units gathered to the north.
To the south, a red tide spread out in answer.
At last, the battle lines of the Police-Fire War were properly drawn.
The rough breath of men boiling with blood and fire felt scorching hot.
In the crushing tension, neither side waited for the other to make the first move.
They charged.
“Waaah!!!”
“I-I don’t believe it…”
One villain muttered as he dropped to his knees.
There were more than fifty villains lying around me.
Most of them had either had their throats cut or their hearts stopped.
I shook the blood off the dagger in my hand.
Scarlet sprayed through the air like a painting thrown wide.
“What’s so unbelievable about it?”
I’d climbed into the A-class tier. There was no way I’d be pushed around by low-grade villains.
Na Sang-min’s brutal training and my own grind in Pigrum had both paid off.
Still, this is tiring.
Wasn’t there a saying that numbers were their own kind of power?
Fighting a hundred awakened fighters all at once made my breathing turn rough and shallow.
“Huff…”
I steadied my ragged breaths inside the mask.
Because of my rampage, the tide of battle had completely turned.
While I handled the villains, the firefighters drove the police back.
So far, so good.
If we kept pushing like this, it looked like we might wrap things up without much trouble.
That was when it happened.
Something sliced through the air and brushed past my right ear.
I spread my palm and pressed it lightly against the side of my head.
Blood welled up from the torn flesh and ran down hot.
The villains shook with laughter, their shoulders bouncing.
“Heh. Serves you right.”
“We’ve got a Gunner on our side. You’re screwed!”
I turned my head and looked upward.
A scope gleamed in the sunlight from the roof of a building.
A sniper.
An awakened one who handled firearms, a Gunner, could strike targets from long range with ease.
Normal bullets could be blocked all day long with the Divine Aura.
But mana-infused rounds were a different story.
“Next time, I’m blowing your skull clean off!”
“I’ll make sure I slice the head clean off your corpse, even if your brain’s still dripping out of it!”
“That Gunner’s killed over a hundred people, got it?”
Emboldened, the villains spat out grotesque threats.
I let out a long breath.
“Good.”
The Police-Fire War wasn’t about exterminating monsters.
It was human against human.
I’d even worried at one point that I might feel guilty about that.
“Really good. If you’re trash like this, I can kill you without holding back.”
The villains scowled at my words.
“Shoot him now!”
At once, a bullet sliced through the wind toward me.
I twisted my body and swung my sword.
With a sharp ping, two villains standing behind me crumpled to the ground.
“W-What?”
“……Why?”
I looked down at the dagger in my hand.
I’d coated White Revenge with industrial paint.
Heoksikdo on my back had gotten the same treatment.
The black blades had changed color.
Feels nice in the hand.
I’d cut the bullet in half.
Ganro-ryu was absolute defense.
As for something like a bullet flying at me…
I could split it down the middle whenever I wanted.
The sniper seemed to panic and kept firing in quick succession.
Ping, ping, ping!
I spun around and danced through the hail of bullets with my sword.
“Gah!”
“Ugh!”
“Kuhk!”
The villains around me fell in every direction at once.
Bullets ricocheted everywhere, piercing through their bodies.
For me, it was as easy as blowing my nose without lifting a finger.
“S-Stop it!!”
One villain radioed for backup, and the gunfire ceased.
I glared at the rooftop where the sniper was posted.
“There you are.”
I raised my index finger and pointed at the spot, as if aiming a gun.
“What, an energy type?”
“He’s releasing mana all the way out there?”
Of course, that was nonsense.
I didn’t have the ability to fire mana bullets with my finger.
I flicked my index finger upward and muttered,
“Bang.”
The sky darkened.
A monstrous creature appeared, blocking the clouds.
Bippi, your turn.
The wyvern spread its wings and breathed fire toward the rooftop.
“Gaaah!”
The villain engulfed in flames tumbled from the rooftop of the building.
The one who landed on a car was flattened instantly.
Bippi circled through the air and vanished above the clouds.
That was the real guerrilla operation.
Yeah. Bringing Bippi was the right call.
With their trump card gone, the remaining villains faltered.
“That bastard…”
“Just who the hell are you?”
Who am I, huh.
The corrupt police had branded me a Class-1 wanted criminal.
There was no hypocrisy greater than that.
Suddenly, I remembered what Jin Haram had once said.
“I think even hypocrisy can be a form of goodness.”
Na Sang-min had said that what mattered more than defining hypocrisy was the power to judge good and evil.
I…
There were only about thirty villains left.
A group wearing the skin of police officers, mercilessly threatening firefighters.
They were evil soaked to the bone in hypocrisy.
So what was hypocrisy to me?
Hypocrisy was…
Hypocrisy was…
Hypocrisy was…
I made my decision.
Hypocrisy is more evil than goodness!
And if I was going to judge evil…
I slid White Revenge into the sheath at my thigh.
Then I slowly drew Heoksikdo from my back.
A blade white as snow emerged into view.
If I wanted to stand against hypocrisy…
I had to become even more vicious than evil itself.
That was right.
This Police-Fire War wasn’t a battle between good and evil.
It was a war between evil
and something even greater than evil.
Heoksikdo flashed brilliantly.
The Purple Devil, now more vicious than any villain, began his merciless slaughter.