Chapter 104. Trying to Cross the Line?
Chapter 104. Trying to Cross the Line?
In a meeting room inside the Association.
Despite being in the heart of the city, no sound of wind seeped into the room.
A few figures sat around the table, their faces grim.
On the screen, the earlier match played on a loop.
The footage showed Jang Yun-jae handling Baekho Guild's Kang Ha-jin like a child.
It was overwhelming.
Almost unreal.
"Does this make any sense?"
One of them leaned back in his chair, pressing his forehead.
"Kang Ha-jin couldn't put up any resistance. Finished just like that. Do you think that's even possible?"
"Honestly... I thought he could lose. But this is beyond reason. Kang Ha-jin was a strong favorite for the title."
A brief silence hung in the air before someone spoke in a low, cautious voice.
"...Could there be a possibility of doping?"
It was a question everyone had expected, but no one had dared to raise.
Precisely to handle this possibility, only Association members—not government officials—had gathered here.
"A possibility of doping... certainly plausible. But can we really proceed with a doping test based on that?"
In that instant, the air in the meeting room grew tense.
No one spoke.
"That kid... he's definitely with the Black Faction Guild..."
Then silence again.
No one was willing to step forward and say, "Let's test him."
If the test came back positive, that would only confirm what they suspected.
But what if it came back negative?
There was no telling what retaliation the Black Faction might bring.
"Can we handle the consequences?"
The Black Faction had roots in organized crime. Since gaining power, they had only grown bolder—never milder.
Rumor had it that one or two of their adversaries had quietly vanished.
"This doesn't seem like a matter we should decide on our own."
The highest-ranking official present carefully wrapped up the discussion.
"As for whether drugs are involved... let's report it to the higher-ups and wait for instructions. Even after the tournament ends, if evidence surfaces, it won't be hard to overturn the results. Let's not put our necks on the line and make ourselves targets."
Everyone quietly nodded.
'We definitely conducted a drug test between the preliminaries and the main rounds...'
But he shook his head, abandoning his private "delusion."
The higher-ups would make the call anyway.
---
Finally, the day of the finals arrived.
The stands were packed, and the broadcast cameras captured the two competitors from every angle.
This time, Jang Yun-jae's father, Jang Ho-jin, and his daughter, Jang Yoon-seo, had taken seats in the VIP section.
'How on earth...'
They wouldn't have come under normal circumstances, but the performance he had displayed last time was far too shocking.
"Father."
Jang Yoon-seo spoke quietly, keeping her head bowed.
"Could it be... that he's been hiding his power all along?"
Jang Ho-jin didn't answer his daughter's question.
Instead, his eyes flickered coldly.
'...No. There's no way I wouldn't know.'
He had kept a constant watch on Jang Yun-jae.
He had even sent someone to secretly search his room.
Just in case any illegal drugs or suspicious items might turn up.
But every time, the result came back clean.
"What the hell are you hiding...?"
On the other side of the VIP section,
Laila and I sat quietly as well.
Our presence caught Jang Ho-jin's eye.
"Excuse me."
He approached us in a soft, courteous tone.
Turning to me with a slight smile, he spoke.
"What does Unknown Hunter expect from today's match?"
I turned my head, expressionless, and replied in a flat voice.
"If he shows the same form as last time, Jang Yun-jae will win, of course."
Just then, Jang Yoon-seo stepped out from behind Jang Ho-jin.
"Do you think Jang Yun— I mean, my brother will win?"
"...?"
"Don't you find it odd that he's suddenly showing that kind of performance?"
Jang Ho-jin was about to reprimand his daughter for sounding as if she were demanding answers from Unknown Hunter.
But I looked at Jang Yoon-seo as if I didn't mind at all.
"Everyone has a hidden card. I figured the Black Faction Guild had trained Jang Yun-jae."
"..."
It wasn't exactly wrong.
Jang Yun-jae was Jang Ho-jin's son, after all.
It wasn't strange for the guild to train him.
"I'd much rather see Lee Chae-hyun, your student, win, Unknown Hunter."
Saying that, Jang Yoon-seo plopped down next to Laila.
Completely thrown by his daughter's behavior, Jang Ho-jin ended up sitting beside her.
Soon after, the voices of the commentators rang out.
"The finals at last! Lee Chae-hyun versus Jang Yun-jae! Viewers, could we ask for a more thrilling matchup?"
"Hunter Lee Chae-hyun has fought tooth and nail to get here. As for Hunter Jang Yun-jae... he might just be the most shocking victor in this entire tournament."
"And right as we speak—the match has begun!"
---
Amid the roaring cheers of the crowd, the match between the two began.
But as the bout continued, the atmosphere took on an odd edge.
The exchange of blows looked fierce on the surface.
"Hero, doesn't this seem strange?"
At Laila's question, I frowned slightly.
Jang Yun-jae wasn't fighting.
He was toying with her.
"What a twisted personality."
He was wounding his opponent, driving her back, as if he could end it at any moment but was deliberately drawing it out slowly.
"What a nasty hobby..."
Lee Chae-hyun was gasping for breath, barely holding on with her body about to give out.
Meanwhile, Jang Yun-jae was relaxed, even sporting a grin.
The faint twitch at the corner of his mouth was filled with unmistakable glee.
'Tch...'
Even Jang Ho-jin, watching the scene from the VIP section, narrowed his eyes.
He, too, sensed something was off.
The look in Lee Chae-hyun's eyes changed as she faced Jang Yun-jae.
She bit down hard on her lips and focused her mind. A surge of hot mana thrashed like a tidal wave from her heart.
— Kwah-ah...!
Mana expanded rapidly throughout her body, engulfing her.
"M-Mana readings...! Skyrocketing...!"
The commentator shouted in alarm.
The numbers on the monitor had soared well beyond the standard for an E-rank Hunter.
"For such a phenomenon to occur..."
The other commentator trailed off.
Only shock and confusion filtered through the screen.
The tide of battle slowly began to shift.
Lee Chae-hyun, who had been thoroughly overwhelmed until now, started deflecting, dodging, and finally parrying Jang Yun-jae's attacks.
"Huff... hah..."
That was the moment.
Jang Yun-jae's lips curled up slowly, and he smiled meaningfully.
"What, you too?"
With those words...
An explosive surge of mana burst out of Jang Yun-jae's body as well.
It was identical to Lee Chae-hyun's.
No—even greater.
"Th-This is absurd...!"
The sight stunned Lee Chae-hyun.
And it stunned Laila and me as well.
"How does he know that method...?"
It wasn't a simple release of mana.
It was a technique that artificially overloaded the body.
A method of quite literally burning through the body itself to gain momentary power beyond one's limits.
"Hero, it's... different from the technique we taught Chae-hyun..."
Laila's eyes gleamed as she observed the situation.
"Right now, an overload reaction is occurring inside his body. It's not a natural overload—it's more like he's being assisted by something..."
"Let's watch for now," I said.
Lee Chae-hyun began to be pushed back further.
Jang Yun-jae's assault was more brutal, sharper.
In a fight where both had triggered the overload technique, the gap in stamina, experience, and raw physical ability was simply too vast.
— Smack!
Lee Chae-hyun took a vicious kick to the abdomen, lost her balance, and collapsed.
Gasping for air, she stared up at the ceiling.
The match was effectively over.
"...What the?"
An ominous feeling spread among the spectators.
Jang Yun-jae looked down at the already-fallen Lee Chae-hyun and slowly approached.
His sword was still in his hand, and an unknown madness glinted in his eyes.
"W-Wait...! Hunter Jang Yun-jae!!!"
He aimed his sword at her nape, clearly intending to stab.
The referees, horrified by the sight, let out sharp shouts.
"Stop! The match is already over!!!"
As the referees entered the arena, Jang Yun-jae lunged at Lee Chae-hyun.
And with a thick smile, he thrust with the tip of his blade.
"Die!!!"
Just as he put his weight behind the stab—
— Kwang!!!
With a deafening roar, the VIP section shattered into pieces.
"Trying to cross the line, are we?"
I had already moved the instant Jang Yun-jae truly meant to kill Lee Chae-hyun.
I wrenched his wrist hard.
"Is this... how you're supposed to interfere in a match?"
But he stared at me with an emotionless expression, as if he felt no pain at all.
Various officials, referees, and even Jang Ho-jin and Jang Yoon-seo approached us after we stormed into the arena.
"For Unknown Hunter to do such a..."
— Smack!!
I punched his jaw to knock him out before he could spew any more garbage I refused to hear.
"Unknown Hunter."
Jang Ho-jin walked up beside his son.
Was he angry that I had struck his son?
"You saw what happened too, Black Faction Guild Master."
"...I apologize."
The referees arrived along with agents carrying a stretcher.
"Test this bastard for drugs. Right in front of me."
"..."
The referees and officials gulped at the razor-sharp edge in my voice.
Then they loaded the unconscious Jang Yun-jae onto the stretcher.
"If..."
"..."
"If this turns out to be connected to the Black Faction Guild... you'd better brace yourselves."
Hearing my words, Jang Ho-jin swallowed hard and nodded.