Hide-and-Seek (6)
Under the moonlight, I stood off against Quarter.
Before I could clash with him, there was something I had to do first.
"Ha Se-na."
"Yeah."
Ha Se-na immediately understood what I meant. She quickly checked Jeon Su-bin, who had collapsed on the ground, then shook her head.
"Her heart stopped."
It wasn’t just her heart. Jeon Su-bin’s body had been torn into four pieces.
No matter how skilled a healer was, the dead couldn’t be brought back.
"At the very least," Ha Se-na muttered. "I’ll put her body back together."
I knew that. It might be a meaningless gesture.
"While you do that, Choi Yongki..." A fire of anger rose in Ha Se-na’s eyes. "Make sure you kill that bastard."
Ha Se-na had spent the night with Jeon Su-bin for surveillance. Su-bin was a villain, but she had a loose, careless sort of personality. She talked a lot, and she was a little ditzy. She’d probably been spouting nonsense at Ha Se-na the whole time. Maybe she’d even gone on and on about the miserable childhood she’d spent in a brothel.
Against her will, Ha Se-na must have ended up talking with her about one thing and another. It had only been one night, but... Had she gotten attached?
She must have clung to a faint hope—that Quarter would surrender, and that Jeon Su-bin, after paying for her crimes, might still go on to live an ordinary life.
Hope was shattered.
By the villain who had appeared before us.
Ha Se-na closed Jeon Su-bin’s eyes with her palm.
"In her next life, I hope..."
Her trembling voice couldn’t even finish the sentence. Silently, she used mana to reattach Su-bin’s arms and legs to her body.
Quarter stepped forward.
"You’re going to kill me?"
He had murdered Jeon Su-bin in the blink of an eye.
He didn’t hesitate for even a second.
Like drawing a cross, he had ripped her body apart into four pieces in one motion. It was a killing technique that was machine-like in its speed and precision. Quarter brushed his bloodstained hair back with his hand.
"You won’t be able to. At least not today."
Was that confidence born from skill? Or was it just bluff?
It wouldn’t be empty arrogance. Quarter had been given an S+ rank; he was definitely not weak.
But no matter how strong he was...
"You’re full of it. This is your grave."
I slowly drew White Revenge.
A voice came from behind me.
"Hyungnim. Let’s take him together."
Bang Su-hwan was furious too, all the way to the roots of his hair. It was an ironic sight—getting enraged because one villain had killed another villain.
At least this much I have to admit.
Whether it was conscience, guilt, or something else entirely, Quarter had a knack for stirring up something buried deep in the human abyss.
Then a new figure emerged from the brush.
"Boss."
He was a tall man in black.
There were eight executives in New Dark.
So one of them.
I said to Bang Su-hwan, "Su-hwan. Can you handle him?"
"Of course."
Bang Su-hwan walked toward the villain with his Kite Shield raised. At last, it became a one-on-one fight against Quarter.
I struck first. In the darkness, White Revenge flashed with a blade of light.
With a metallic clang, Quarter took a step back. My hand went numb.
I meant to take his head off in one stroke.
Quarter blocked it with a dagger of an unusual shape.
As expected, fast.
Judging by the blade, it was a new product from Seosan, the major corporation that produced hunter equipment. And on top of that...
He customized it to his liking.
At a glance, it didn’t make much sense. Seosan products were certainly expensive and high-performing.
But...
A rare item from a dungeon would probably be much better.
If Quarter was that skilled, he should have been able to get hold of an even better sword if he wanted to.
I reversed my grip on White Revenge.
Too many stray thoughts.
I shook my head and cleared them away. When facing a master, you had to focus on one thing and one thing only.
Take him down, no matter what!
I closed the distance in an instant and swung White Revenge again and again. Quarter answered with his dagger. Clang! Sparks flew as our blades collided. Once more, Quarter retreated to create distance. A gust of wind swept through, and the grass on the ground lay flat as if bowing.
"How long are you going to keep running?"
"...."
Quarter lifted his dagger to eye level and took up a defensive stance.
So he plans to defend only.
Ganro-ryu was a sword art devoted to absolute defense. It blocked attacks by swinging the blade at high speed. If I turned that around and used it against him...
I surged back into Quarter’s range.
Clang-clang-clang-clang!
I swung my sword twelve times in one second.
It felt almost like using Speeder’s Infinite Acceleration.
The more I fought. The more abilities I gained through Purchase. The stronger the enemy I faced!
Even without spending my Awakened Balance.
I'm becoming more and more like a hero!
Quarter staggered. "Ghk!"
The longer it went on, the more Quarter was driven into a corner.
He pressed his thumb against the dagger’s hilt.
Something flashed in the chaos of my vision. A sharp needle shot toward my pupil.
Not a chance.
I knocked the needle aside with Ganro-ryu. Quarter didn’t stop there. He opened the cap in the dagger’s handle, and a small spray of liquid flew toward my face. I ducked, avoiding the unknown fluid. The grass it touched smoked and burst into flame. It was poison with the properties of hydrochloric acid.
Playing cheap tricks, huh.
I jammed White Revenge into my thigh and drew the Black Eater Sword from my back.
Severing Cut, Third Form.
It was a technique of Ilcheon-illyu that cut three times with one swing. Quarter’s dagger snapped in two. As his curly hair was sliced away, blood droplets scattered through the air. Quarter hurriedly grabbed his shoulder.
I didn’t miss the opening and kicked him in the abdomen.
"Kgh!"
Quarter rolled across the ground.
"...."
His collar had been sliced, and blood seeped out over his fingers. I had succeeded in the ambush, but I wasn’t satisfied.
Too shallow.
I had meant to use the Black Eater Sword to cleave him from top to bottom in a single stroke.
But at that moment, Quarter twisted his body with a strange motion and skewed the attack.
Was he simply that fast?
I didn’t know what Quarter’s ability was. If it were a speed-based talent, that would make perfect sense.
...Something feels off.
Quarter fought me with a dagger, but once I actually crossed blades with him, I could tell.
He’s not a swordsman.
He swung a blade, sure, but his fundamentals were lacking. To make up for it, he used hidden weapons and poison.
His technique is crude.
When our swords clashed, I overwhelmed him.
Is he holding back?
No. That wasn’t it.
He’s hiding his skill.
But for what reason?
Quarter desperately kept his distance. He only traded feints and probes, trying not to meet me head-on.
He’s hiding his real strength.
I lowered the Black Eater Sword.
"Are we going to stay here all night if this is all you’ve got? Show me what you can really do."
Quarter let out a breath.
"Aren’t you hiding your real strength too?"
That was true enough.
I still hadn’t used my hero abilities. I planned to save them as my trump card if I got cornered.
I checked the surroundings. Ha Se-na was sweating buckets as she repaired Jeon Su-bin’s body. Bang Su-hwan was locked in combat with Quarter’s subordinate.
"Yaaah!!!"
Bang Su-hwan’s massive Kite Shield slammed into the villain’s waist. Quarter’s subordinate rolled helplessly across the ground.
That should be enough.
Bang Su-hwan had the upper hand.
Since I had already decided to kill Quarter, I resolved to end it quickly and decisively.
"Good."
I gripped the Black Eater Sword and took my stance. If I was going to use hero abilities...
This time I won’t miss.
Infinite Acceleration activated.
Awakened Balance: ₩432,491,370
₩10,000,000 was deducted.
I kicked off the ground and shot forward.
It was as if time itself had stopped.
Gnats floated in the air. Grass blades swayed slowly in the wind. Every passing moment felt stretched thin, as though eternity had been squeezed into a single instant.
Only I moved freely through the space.
Quarter didn’t even realize what was happening.
He just stood there blankly, mouth open, clutching his broken dagger.
But at Quarter’s feet, a circular wave of mana spread outward.
That’s...
Mana centered on Quarter began expanding across a fixed radius.
I was moving at a speed beyond even the speed of sound right now. And yet Quarter’s mana was moving at about the same pace.
He can keep up with Speeder?
That didn’t seem right.
Because Quarter himself was still frozen like a mannequin.
Then...
Counterattack type.
An ability that struck back at an enemy before the user even consciously registered it.
The moment I understood that, I stood at a crossroads.
I had no idea what would happen if I entered Quarter’s range.
Should I stop?
If I went in, needles might rain from both sides like before. I might get infected with poison. Or I might suffer some unknown blow.
Amid the anxiety and all the possible outcomes, I came to a decision.
Keep going.
If I got poisoned, I could get Ha Se-na’s help. And if attacks came pouring down mercilessly, I’d just block them with Ganro-ryu’s secret technique, Iron Fortress.
I drew closer to Quarter, one step at a time.
One step. Then another.
I entered Quarter’s territory.
I was tense as hell, but nothing happened.
I only felt the mana Quarter possessed.
A sticky, unpleasant sensation traveled up from the soles of my feet to my thighs.
I glared at Quarter and raised the Black Eater Sword.
Die.
I brought the Black Eater Sword crashing down.
Time flowed normally again.
Quarter coughed up a mouthful of blood.
The attack had landed.
It had cut diagonally, deep from his shoulder all the way down to below his navel.
And yet...
"...."
I frowned.
It’s shallow again.
I hadn’t managed to cut clean through his torso.
Just like Jeon Su-bin.
I had intended to slice him all the way to the bone, but...
Does the attack get twisted somehow when it enters his range?
At that moment, Bang Su-hwan knocked down Quarter’s subordinate.
"Hyungnim! This side’s done!"
Quarter wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve. His legs were trembling so badly he looked like he’d collapse any second.
That’s a mortal wound.
In that condition, he wasn’t getting out of here.
He couldn’t fight properly either.
Quarter opened his mouth.
"...I did expect that nothing could be gained without sacrifice."
He lifted the broken dagger.
That thing couldn’t hurt me anymore.
But there was certainty in his expression.
"Look carefully. This is my ability."
Quarter slashed the air with the dagger.
Light was carved vertically, and a new space appeared.
It was an ability that manipulated dimensions at will.
Harbang’s ability?
Quarter stuck one hand into the space.
Was he trying to escape?
"It’s dangerous, Noona!"
Just then, Bang Su-hwan suddenly shoved Ha Se-na aside.
Thunk.
I heard the sound of a blade sinking into flesh from somewhere.
Quarter had thrust the dagger into the other space.
And the place connected to that other space...
The fallen Ha Se-na screamed.
"Su-hwan!!!"
A dagger was lodged near Bang Su-hwan’s heart.
So Quarter had used Harbang’s ability. Was he a dimensional mage too, like Harbang?
No, that’s not it.
Probably...
He has some kind of technique for stealing another person’s abilities.
If I had to guess the activation condition...
The opponent has to use their ability after entering his domain.
Over the years, Quarter must have made contact with Harbang countless times.
And through that process, he had probably stolen Harbang’s ability outright.
"I told you. You wouldn’t be able to kill me today."
Only then did Quarter open a huge dimensional gate.
He set one foot into the other space.
I stood at a crossroads and hesitated. Bang Su-hwan was lying there, bleeding. Saving him had to come before chasing Quarter down.
I couldn’t leave Bang Su-hwan behind.
I clenched my teeth.
I have no choice but to stand here and watch...
...or so he must have thought.
Like hell!!!
I had no intention of moving the way Quarter wanted.
Infinite Acceleration activated.
In the blink of an eye, I seized one of Quarter’s arms.
Judgment of the Superhuman activated.
I grabbed his hand and yanked hard.
Crack!
The bones in Quarter’s grip shattered to pieces.
Just as the dragon in Manjanggul had done to me...
"I’ll tear off one of your arms."
From palm to elbow, I ripped Quarter’s arm out by the root.
"Aaaagh!!!"
Quarter staggered, writhing in agony.
Next is his neck!
As I reached out, Quarter shoved the rest of his body into the dimensional gate as if running for his life.
"...Choi Yongki."
Through the slowly closing gate, Quarter and I stared at each other.
"Let’s finish this soon. Next time... we’ll meet alone."
Like a ghost, Quarter vanished without a trace.