Butterfly Effect (5)
When Purple Devil appeared, Lee Yu-seol activated Sense.
Before she ever set foot inside the Ilsan Hunter Factory, she had already finished her investigation of the industrial complex.
There had been three Awakened here in total. The strongest among them was now a corpse buried in the hill behind the factory. The second was that tall man leading the group. And the last was the one Lee Yu-seol had judged to be the weakest of them all.
That man is Purple Devil?
He was standing right in front of her, and at a glance, it didn’t make sense.
He wasn’t even in her sights before. On the surface, he was just an Awakened. In reality, he didn’t look any different from an ordinary civilian. If she had to rank him as a hunter, he might barely scrape the bottom of F-class—if he qualified at all.
And especially—he had been utterly pathetic when it came to talent.
Even now, it was obvious. He was radiating mana in a fit of rage, but the amount was far too meager. He looked like a frail little kitten puffing up its fur with all its might, trying to seem dangerous.
And his physical abilities don’t seem exceptional either.
A miserable talentless nobody, worse than average. If he had shown up for an interview at Dio Guild, he would’ve been rejected at the document screening stage.
But...
Lee Yu-seol didn’t let her guard down.
She scanned the area around him. This man had rescued someone falling inside the factory, snatched a cat out of midair, and blocked a mana arrow.
...When?
Not even an A-class hunter like her had been able to see it happen.
A mage type?
Lee Yu-seol shook her head.
Someone who had learned Sense couldn’t possibly fail to detect an Awakened who handled magic.
Hallucination? No. That really was him doing it.
This wasn’t the kind of thing you could pull off with mere trickery. Which meant there was only one conclusion.
He has some kind of special talent.
While Lee Yu-seol was glaring at Purple Devil, the twins finally came running up in a panic.
“Huff, huff! We’re here!”
“Please don’t blow it up!”
Lee Yu-seol’s face twisted.
The twins were each wearing cheap dog collars with little LED lights blinking around their necks. The person they were begging wasn’t Lee Yu-seol.
It was Purple Devil.
He turned those vicious twins into tame sheep. How?
A faint smile tugged at the corner of Lee Yu-seol’s mouth. One of her worse habits was that even in life-threatening situations, curiosity always came first.
What in the world is he?
Her heart thudded with equal parts anticipation and unease.
Slowly, Lee Yu-seol walked toward Purple Devil.
Well. Might as well find out.
She stopped in front of him and took off her hat and mask. Her glossy bobbed hair spilled down like silk.
“Please calm down, Mr. Purple Devil.”
With a coy smile, Lee Yu-seol openly worked the charm that had ruined more than a few men before.
If she decided to seduce someone, there were very few who could resist her.
“I’m Lee Yu-seol of Dio Guild. We’ve only come to make you an offer.”
Even with her smile, Purple Devil didn’t answer.
“Ugh...”
The man who had been knocked out after Seo Gwang-pal hit him in the back of the head finally opened his eyes. Purple Devil handed him the kitten.
“Get going.”
“...Y-yes. T-thank you!”
The foreign worker fled with the kitten in his arms, practically running for his life.
Lee Yu-seol snorted softly.
Let’s see how long he can keep ignoring me.
She faced him squarely. Through the mask, she looked into his deep, shadowed eyes.
“Wouldn’t it be better if you took off the mask? I bet you’re fairly handsome.”
Lee Yu-seol reached for Purple Devil’s face with catlike grace.
Tap.
Purple Devil caught her wrist.
“I’ll ask one thing.”
His flashing eyes locked onto hers.
“Of course. Ask me anything.”
“Why are you going this far?”
Lee Yu-seol smiled.
“Why? Are you asking about the justification for our actions? Fine. I’ll answer. First, we’re here to invite you to our guild.”
Purple Devil stared at her.
She was debating it.
Should I ask him nicely? Or drag him away by force?
She had to carry out her superior’s order, so she needed to achieve the objective by any means necessary.
Of course, by whatever means were available.
It’s dangerous, but... maybe I should provoke him a little? I’m curious what he’ll do.
Still caught by the wrist, Lee Yu-seol pushed her chest forward. Her distinctive scent drifted through the air.
“Our chairman wants to meet you. But that’s only the surface reason.”
She lifted her free hand and poked his chest with a long index finger.
“You attacked one of our hunters first. That’s the same as picking a fight with all of Dio Guild. Heh.”
Lee Yu-seol flicked her pink tongue against her lip.
Now what are you going to do?
Purple Devil exhaled.
“So,” he said, his voice dropping lower, “you attacked one of your guild members, and now you’ve all come swarming over here to take it out on an innocent man. That’s what you’re saying?”
“Well, yes. In essence.”
Then Seo Gwang-pal strode up.
“Hey! There you are at last! I’ve been looking all over for you!”
If Lee Yu-seol had been in her usual state, she would have stopped Seo Gwang-pal the moment he barged in. But this time, she let him be.
He must be boiling with rage by now. Go on—show me how you lose control this time. I won’t let it slip past me again.
Seo Gwang-pal shouted, “You little brat! Purple head! Don’t you remember me? Kukuk! I’m going to make you taste hell today. Where should I break you first?”
Purple Devil kept his eyes fixed on Lee Yu-seol as he continued, “So that was the only reason.”
“Only reason? The man right there ended up in the hospital because of you. Isn’t that right?”
Lee Yu-seol pointed to Seo Gwang-pal.
The air around them tightened like a drawn bowstring.
Seo Gwang-pal, standing beside Purple Devil, puffed up his neck veins and sprayed spit as he yelled, “You motherfucker! I said, don’t you remember me—!”
Thud.
Seo Gwang-pal stopped speaking with his mouth open.
No—he had been forced to stop.
“Cough.”
Purple Devil’s fist had punched straight through Seo Gwang-pal’s stomach.
Blood dribbled from the corner of Seo Gwang-pal’s mouth as he coughed in disbelief. Everything had happened so quickly that no one could even process it.
“Wh-what...?”
Seo Gwang-pal stared down at the fist buried through his abdomen.
The twins and every member of Dio Guild stood there with their mouths hanging open. Not one of them dared to move.
Lee Yu-seol felt gooseflesh rise along one cheek.
“Ghk!”
She frowned and pressed a hand to her forehead.
A force so intense it was almost unbearable crashed into her senses.
No, no way.
She slowly lifted her head.
Purple Devil pulled his bloodied fist out of Seo Gwang-pal’s stomach.
Lee Yu-seol’s Sense reacted like it was screaming.
Goooo—!
Mana surged from Purple Devil’s fist, far beyond anything Lee Yu-seol, an A-class hunter, could comprehend.
“You asked if I hit him?” Purple Devil raised his fist, dripping with blood. “Wrong.”
Seo Gwang-pal trembled all over in sheer terror.
“Y-you little piece of shi—!”
Kwaaak!
Seo Gwang-pal’s skull burst apart and sprayed into the air under Purple Devil’s fist.
Smack!
A warm scrap of scalp, still slick with sticky brain matter, slapped onto Lee Yu-seol’s face.
She stood there, stunned and rigid as a statue.
Ironically, the childish name Purple Devil fit perfectly.
...A real demon.
The purple specter standing beside the headless Seo Gwang-pal said, “I didn’t hit him. I killed him.”
Then he looked at Lee Yu-seol and the rest of Dio Guild.
“And you’re all going to die soon.”
“Every last one of you.”
I looked down at Seo Gwang-pal’s corpse, stripped of its head.
My first murder.
If you asked me how I felt, the answer would be: nothing much.
I had never once used Superhuman Judgment in earnest except when I took down Big Lava. The power was so monstrous that if I misjudged my strength even slightly, I’d end up killing my opponent.
But just now, I had swung with all my might at Seo Gwang-pal’s head.
It was no different from Big Lava.
The unpleasant sensation of something bursting the instant my fist made contact.
I couldn’t find a shred of pleasure in it.
People who enjoy this kind of thing... I can’t forgive them. Not at all.
I grabbed Lee Yu-seol’s wrist, still trembling, and turned toward the Dio Guild members.
“Listen carefully, all of you!”
My voice rang out across the barren ground like a hammer strike.
“From this moment on, I won’t let a single one of you escape! Run if you want—it won’t save you!”
Hearing me, the twins waved their hands frantically.
“W-wait!”
“We’re on your side!”
Nothing reached me.
My vision was blurring with boiling rage.
“Shut up! You, too—the ones who came here with them.”
I activated Superhuman Judgment in the hand gripping Lee Yu-seol’s wrist.
“I’m going to kill you all.”
Before I’d even finished speaking, Lee Yu-seol gasped and stumbled back.
Slash!
The skin around the wrist I was holding was ripped apart to shreds.
I didn’t know what ability she had used, but she must have fought for her life. Thanks to that, she managed to save one wrist.
Lee Yu-seol seemed to be gathering mana, focusing her entire mind.
She stared at me so hard she didn’t seem willing to let even one of my movements escape her notice.
Useless.
I drew the knife tucked into my thigh.
It was the pure white blade I had taken as loot after Cha Chi-do died.
Its razor edge could cut through steel, and its hardness was forty times greater than diamond.
The plain sashimi knife had been reborn as a dagger through Karki’s hands.
The dagger’s name was White Revenge.
Srrrk.
Lee Yu-seol screamed toward Dio Guild, “Watch out! He’s coming!”
At her warning, the twins immediately grabbed two of Yeong-cheol Suho-dae.
“Fuck! Come any closer—”
“We’ll kill these bastards first!”
Their true colors showed at once. They began using the hostages to threaten me.
I shut my eyes, then opened them again.
After that, I Purchased a hero’s ability.
Infinite Acceleration of Speeder has been activated.
In barely one-tenth of a second.
In that instant.
In this space where everyone else seemed frozen.
Only I was moving.
I gripped White Revenge in reverse and swung it again and again like a madman.
Chhhaaaak—!
Time began to flow once more.
Drip.
A single bead of blood slid off the blade of White Revenge and fell.
At the same moment, the twins’ heads tilted and slid sideways.
Red lines deepened across the necks of the Dio Guild members.
And then, one after another, their heads dropped from their bodies.
Thud. Thud. Thud...
As if they had agreed in advance, their bodies collapsed in sequence.
Pools of blood spread where the severed necks had been.
It looked almost like red flowers blooming from the ground.
When had it started?
When I killed Big Lava?
When I met Seo Gwang-pal?
When I fought Cha Chi-do?
Or maybe from the moment, in a previous life, I had admired heroes?
No. This was the butterfly effect.
Once I had decided to become a hero, dirtying my hands to cut down evil had become inevitable.
I had finally crossed the river that could never be crossed back.
For some reason, I felt strangely relieved. My heart had gone quiet.
The only ones still standing were Gi Yeong-cheol and his men.
And Lee Yu-seol, who was shaking like a leaf.
I had deliberately not killed her.
These people had come here on the orders of Dio Guild’s chairman. If I wiped them all out here, no one would know what had happened.
I walked up to Lee Yu-seol.
Her face had gone pale, and as cold sweat ran down her skin, she swallowed hard.
“Call him.”
My voice had grown much calmer, and it rolled across the wreckage in a low, steady wave.
“W-who?”
“The person who sent you here.”
“...”
Lee Yu-seol said no more useless things.
In the middle of this blood-soaked hellscape, she clung to the last thread of her sanity and obediently listened to me.
She picked up her phone.
When the call connected, she handed the phone to me.
“Hello? Team Leader Lee?”
“It’s me. Purple Devil.”
Silence hung on the other end of the line.
“What happened to my staff?”
“I killed them all.”
The person on the other end was someone I knew well.
The S-class hunter born in South Korea, the chairman of Dio Guild.
A bastard who wouldn’t hesitate to use any kind of corruption if it got him what he wanted.
“You killed them all? You’re out of your mind. You’ve got some nerve to pick a fight with Dio Guild.”
He wasn’t wrong.
I had kicked a hornet’s nest the size of a mountain. I had no idea whether I’d be dealing with a hundred enemies from here on out, or a thousand.
But it didn’t matter.
“Hmph. I’ll send more staff to catch you. If you kill them, I’ll send even more. Run to the ends of the earth if you want. I’ll chase you for the rest of your life. Whatever it takes.”
“Enough bullshit. Where are you?”
“Why do you ask?”
“I’m coming to meet you right now.”
His breathing grew rough.
He was clearly struggling to suppress his excitement.
“Fine. I’ll wait.”
The moment I ended the call, I kicked Lee Yu-seol in the stomach.
“Ghk!”
She rolled across the dirt, clutching her abdomen.
“Lead the way.”
“...To where?”
Thunder rumbled through the clouded sky.
“I’m going to smash Dio Guild.”