Hero Hunt (4)
“Urk!”
Yeom Ui-jun let out a scream laced with agony. As his severed arm shot into the sky, I repeated to myself inwardly. Good. At this rate, I’ve won.
As his nickname Iron Fist suggested, Yeom Ui-jun was a man who made his two fists his primary weapons. Losing one of them meant his combat power would plummet—it was only natural. I’d already had the upper hand, but now that he’d suffered such a critical loss, it was even more certain.
And it was right then, as I cautiously sensed victory within reach, that Yeom Ui-jun’s panicked expression shifted.
Boom!
A deafening explosion like a shell detonating rocked the air, hurling my body backward. I barely regained my posture just before slamming into the wall and hurriedly assessed the situation.
A shockwave rattling my entire body. Yeom Ui-jun, now one-armed, had his right hand slightly extended, clenched tight. There wasn’t a hint of agitation from him. He merely muttered self-deprecatingly.
“What a foolish thing I was doing.”
Then he slowly walked toward me. With every step, his gaze intensified. In response, the waves of power surging from his entire body climbed endlessly higher.
I sensed it instinctively. This must be the real Yeom Ui-jun. A supporting character in World Guardian and one of the 36 heroes. Facing the brink of death had awakened something long dormant within him.
The flow of mana and the sensation of moving his body. The burning will to crush the enemy before him. An unshakeable calm that never wavered easily. Swift judgment in battle, built on the twin pillars of instinct and experience. He seemed to have regained much of what we call “skill.”
Even after losing an arm, he exuded an aura utterly unlike the has-been relic he’d been moments ago. He spoke.
“Who are you?”
“……”
When I didn’t answer, he gave a wry smile and continued.
“Class A terrorist organization Phantom. Estimated ten or so members, all high-rankers A-grade or above. The identities of the boss and all members are unknown, but there’s someone who takes a leading role in operations. That’s you, right—the second-in-command?”
“You know damn well, so why ask?”
“I wanted to buy some time.”
No sooner had he finished speaking than chaos erupted around the banquet hall. Excluding me and him, the other guests had fled, leaving the space eerily silent—until over a dozen awakeners poured in. They immediately surrounded me, forming a tight encirclement.
Yeom Ui-jun flashed a meaningful smile and spoke persuasively.
“Give it up. Your courage was admirable, but… you’re not getting out of here. If you surrender quietly, I’ll at least make your death painless.”
“Bullshit.”
I shot back nonchalantly, and for a split second, irritation flickered across his face. Of course, to me, it was laughable.
So he thought having more allies on his side gave him the edge? Fat chance.
I’d been stalling for time too.
Whoosh—whoosh!
A fierce wind howled as the air in the space above turned pitch black. Three spots in total. The rifts tore open with a deafening crack, and three shadowy figures emerged—one woman and two men, their forms obscured by mist, each with distinctly different builds. One man was remarkably tall and lean, another enormously burly. The woman was noticeably slender and delicate.
…Took you long enough.
I grumbled inwardly but sent a message to them—my fellow Phantom members.
“Just keep them from interfering. I’ll handle the target alone, then you all scatter on your own.”
“Okay.”
“What? You call us here just to clean up your mess?”
“……Understood.”
The tall man’s crisp agreement. The burly man’s grumbling retort. The slender woman’s quiet response.
Different reactions, but they all complied with my orders regardless. Restoring the one-on-one standoff, I advanced toward Yeom Ui-jun.
“Come at me.”
“It won’t be so easy now. You think the criminal scum like you that I’ve beaten to death with this fist number just one or two?”
I snorted at his taunt as he poured power into his right fist.
“Genuinely curious, but… have you ever fought using just one arm? Looks like you’ll have to this time, like it or not.”
“……Let’s see how long you can keep talking big.”
Thud!
He kicked off the ground and charged. The total output of his power hadn’t changed much from before. But the flow of the fight had completely shifted.
Yeom Ui-jun was relentlessly pressing me now.
Whoosh! Boom!
Fist strikes that could pulverize steel with wind pressure alone came in endless barrage. Gaps appeared in his movements from the missing left arm, but he covered them effortlessly with mana and kicks from both legs. As the lowest-ranked of the 36 heroes, he was still incredibly fast and powerful—though not quite enough to overwhelm me.
I quietly gathered my mana while scanning the surroundings.
“I won’t kill anyone who stays put, but anyone who comes at us dies. Choose carefully.”
The tall man faced off against them, his tone almost polite yet laced with chilling menace.
“That all you got from the so-called powerhouses? Step it up!”
The burly man roared with excitement, sweeping through the enemies.
“……”
The slender woman moved her hands silently. Mana extended from her ten fingers, slicing through everything it touched without mercy.
At this rate, retreating later would be a breeze. No need to watch any longer—I detonated my mana to its maximum.
BOOM!
The black wings sprouting from my shoulder blades expanded massively, large enough to envelop not just me but even Yeom Ui-jun nearby.
“……!”
He visibly panicked. But he quickly regained his composure and unleashed the strike he’d been preparing.
I knew this technique. In World Guardian, it was Yeom Ui-jun’s go-to finisher. And the ones who’d helped him perfect it were Lee Si-hyeok and Jeong Se-bin—my parents.
“What’ll you name it?”
Lee Si-hyeok had asked. Yeom Ui-jun hesitated before answering.
“No need for some cringey technique name. Just use it as is.”
“I agree.”
Jeong Se-bin had chimed in without much emotion. Unnoticed by anyone, Yeom Ui-jun gazed at her with longing eyes and settled on a name in his heart: Iron Fist. A feeling he vowed never to reveal until his dying day. The desire to protect his best friend’s lover—the woman he’d loved for so long.
That attack dissipated as if it had never existed.
And in the next instant, my right hand pierced through Yeom Ui-jun’s chest.
“Gahk!”
He vomited up a clot of blood. Feeling the blood trickling down my arm and the heart gripped in my hand, I glared at him murderously.
With fading, dim eyes, he asked me.
“Who…… are you……? Why, what’s your goal…….”
I shoved my face right up to his.
Clearly, so only he could hear—but unmistakable.
“Revenge.”
I whispered right into the ear of the man on the verge of death.
“Revenge for Lee Si-hyeok and Jeong Se-bin. For my mom and dad.”
“……!”
His eyes flew wide in shock. I pressed on.
“You…… you liked my mom, didn’t you? That’s why when my dad went to block the rift, you hid it from her and just watched.”
It probably wasn’t some convoluted scheme. He wouldn’t have expected to end up with Jeong Se-bin just because Lee Si-hyeok died. But he knew that wherever Lee Si-hyeok was heading, death was inevitable. After all, he’d played a part in creating that rift.
So he concealed the info to keep Jeong Se-bin away. But she realized the gravity too late, chased after Lee Si-hyeok, and in the end, they both left this world.
Foam and blood bubbling from his mouth, Yeom Ui-jun stammered.
“D-Do-jin…… that’s……”
“Shut up. Don’t say my name.”
Yeom Ui-jun had never married. As far as I knew, he’d never even dated seriously. At first, it was because he couldn’t forget Jeong Se-bin. He’d never shown it outwardly, but deep down, he loved her.
After Lee Si-hyeok and Jeong Se-bin died, guilt piled on top. Those tangled emotions led him to cherish me like his own son. Because I was his friend Lee Si-hyeok’s boy. Because he’d contributed to my parents’ deaths. And above all, because I was the son of the woman he’d loved his whole life.
And…… that had nothing to do with me.
Killing him stirred no guilt in me whatsoever. The only regret that burned was one thing.
Depicting in my novel that Yeom Ui-jun loved Jeong Se-bin. That even up to the end, he never showed it once—but held onto it without giving up.
That alone.
Bringing a bastard like you on as a supporting character.
With my right hand still piercing his heart, I placed my left on his head. Black mana scattered his flesh like sand, and he spoke his final words.
“Sorry…… I’m truly sorry……”
“Whatever. Just die.”
I had no interest in his pathetic excuses. If you commit a sin, you pay for it. Everything else is meaningless.
No need for all this pointless back-and-forth.
Shhh……
The flesh, blood, and bones that had once been Yeom Ui-jun turned to gray ash and scattered.
And then, a hologram appeared in my vision.
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