Chapter 124
Chapter 124
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 124
Chapter Title: Light in the Darkness (2)
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*Crack!*
The bullet entered through the eye and exited through the back of the head.
The scent of blood tainted the cool, somewhat lonesome winter air.
Yet the men standing behind the dead one were frozen.
Their eyes were as if they'd just seen a monster.
I know! How could I not understand how they feel?
I meet him every morning when I look in the mirror.
The man who doesn't die even when shot.
Sometimes, when I look at my body, my hands or feet, a thought crosses my mind.
What am I?
Am I human, this man who doesn't die from a gunshot?
I've had such thoughts countless times.
*Crack!*
After putting a bullet in another man's head, Kanghyeok immediately raised his arm to cover his own.
*Thwack!*
The lead bullets they fired struck his forearm and fell to the ground.
"Hngh!"
*Knit, knit.*
He could feel and hear the sensation of damaged muscle repairing itself in his arm.
Kanghyeok lowered his stance, swinging the kukri behind him.
Then he swung it with all his might at the standing man's ankle.
*Crunch!*
"Aaargh!"
The kukri's unique shape and forward-weighted balance translated into considerable destructive power.
"Agh! Aaaargh!"
The man whose ankle was completely severed rolled on the ground, spraying blood everywhere, as the others swarmed in, shoving their pistols at Kanghyeok.
It was a tight space.
Between the cars.
Nowhere to dodge, and even less space to take cover.
Kanghyeok hurriedly covered his head with his arms.
*Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!*
A hail of pistol rounds covered his entire body, followed by a relentless wave of pain so intense it felt like it could tear his very soul apart.
*Click!*
A few of the men whose magazines were now empty felt their hearts freeze at the sight of Kanghyeok, still alive.
"Th-this..."
"...He's not dying."
Kanghyeok, who had unknowingly dropped to one knee, turned his trembling face toward them.
*Twelve.*
Recounting the number of men still standing, Kanghyeok swallowed the blood-tinged saliva in his mouth.
Their empty magazines had created a small opening.
*Knit, knit.*
His body was healing, but he couldn't rely on that alone.
What if a merciless attack like the one just now was focused solely on his head?
If he took damage that exceeded his ability to recover, death might finally come for him.
*If I'm unlucky and don't die...*
I might end up drooling in a bed in their research facility, a brain full of bullets.
*Grit!*
Clenching the pistol in his teeth, Kanghyeok launched himself at the men who were reloading.
"Ugh!"
His legs buckled, so he rammed a man with his shoulder, concentrating his focus on the hand holding the kukri.
*Knit.*
The damaged shoulder muscle had recovered just enough to swing the kukri.
So Kanghyeok plunged the kukri deep into the man's stomach.
*Shunk!*
*Too shallow.*
The blade only went in halfway.
Even so, the man with the kukri in his gut made a gasping sound, his mouth agape, while the others, failing to grasp the situation, yelled out, asking what was happening.
He sensed movement behind him.
*Whish! Crack!*
As he spun around, Kanghyeok grabbed the pistol from his mouth and fired behind him.
*Thump!*
*Eleven.*
*Bang! Bang!*
Two bullets flew in from behind.
One lodged in Kanghyeok's side.
Right where the liver should be.
A direct hit there would inflict enough pain to leave a grown man breathless—a critical spot.
"Gaaahck."
But the one who made the sound was one of Iron Mask's men, his neck pierced by a friendly bullet.
*Ten.*
*Grit!*
Kanghyeok clenched his jaw so hard he could taste blood and lifted his leg. He kicked the handle of the kukri embedded in the man's stomach as if to drive it in deeper, and the man's eyes rolled back as he collapsed.
"You son of a bitch!"
Malice dripped from the voice behind him.
"Don't use guns! Everyone, switch to knives!"
Impatience and fear laced the voices of the men in front.
With Kanghyeok surrounded from both front and back, missing him inevitably meant hitting one of their own.
Nine men remained.
*Shing!*
Perhaps thinking that a knife might work where a pistol had failed, the men unhesitatingly drew their combat knives.
Or maybe they figured he was wearing some kind of bulletproof material under his suit and decided to slash his wrists or neck.
Then come.
Bring it on!
Feeling his shattered liver regenerating, Kanghyeok gripped the pistol so tightly it felt like it would crumble. He stared straight at the combat knife lunging toward him.
The blade had a black, non-reflective coating.
A dark night, with the moon hidden behind the clouds.
It was hard to judge the distance, with not even a silhouette visible.
In times like these, experience becomes the eyes that pierce the darkness.
*Thud!*
Wrist met wrist, and the man's attack came to an abrupt halt.
"Hngh!"
The man tried to pull his arm back,
*Flick!*
but Kanghyeok, spinning the kukri into a reverse grip, hooked the man's wrist and pulled.
As the man was drawn closer, his neck now within reach, Kanghyeok twisted his torso and slashed wide across his throat with the kukri.
*Slish!*
The sensation of a sharp blade tearing through soft flesh.
The gush of hot blood.
The white steam rising from the severed muscle and blood.
*Swish! Thwack!*
He parried a knife aimed at his neck with his arm,
*Crack!*
and shot another in the chest, forcing him to his knees.
*Shink! Shink!*
A series of knife slashes menacingly grazed past his neck.
*Crunch!*
Kanghyeok drove the kukri into the space between the man's neck and shoulder and twisted the handle.
"G-g-g-g-k!"
*Thunk!*
Disgusted by the grotesque groan, he swung the man by the neck without even pulling the kukri out.
It was right after that.
*Stab!*
"Hngh!"
A knife plunged into his shoulder,
*Squish!*
another knife lunged at his stomach,
*Yank!*
a hand grabbed his hair and pulled his head back,
"Kill him!"
*Slice!*
The blade flying toward his exposed throat was chilling.
*Thump!*
Kanghyeok kicked off the ground, throwing himself backward to dodge the knife, rolling on the ground with the man still gripping his hair.
*Grip!*
Pinning the man's neck, Kanghyeok pushed himself up and raised the reverse-gripped kukri.
The man's eyes, looking up at him, trembled.
*Crunch!*
Kanghyeok slammed the kukri into the center of the man's face, then immediately grimaced.
*Stab!*
Because a knife had slipped under his suit jacket and was churning his insides.
"Hoo, k-hngh!"
"Got...!"
Before the man could finish his word.
*Crack!*
Twisting his torso, Kanghyeok smashed his elbow into the man's jaw, then struck his knee with the butt of his pistol.
"Kraa!"
A short scream erupted near his ear.
*Shunk!*
Kanghyeok drove the kukri into the man's stomach and twisted his wrist. The man made a gurgling sound from the agony of his guts being scrambled as Kanghyeok rose to his feet, pulling the man up with him.
*Six.*
The number of men left.
And they were all clustered on one side.
Kanghyeok put his weight into the kukri, driving it deeper, and advanced on the others.
"Agh! Aaaargh!"
Bloody foam trickled from the mouth of the man he was using as a shield.
The men behind him cursed and tried to push Kanghyeok back, but Kanghyeok grit his teeth and pressed forward.
"Gack, gurgle."
The head of the man caught in the middle slumped over.
The others' knives and bare hands reached out, trying to scratch or grab Kanghyeok.
*Thump!*
Pulling out the kukri, Kanghyeok kicked the now-dead man away and raised his pistol.
*Crack!*
*Now four.*
*Crack!*
*Three.*
No more bullets.
Kanghyeok threw the empty pistol at the philtrum of the closest man and reached for another who was charging him.
The man snapped his head back, dodging the hand, while another swung a knife, aiming precisely for Kanghyeok's face.
*Slaaash—!*
His face, where the knife had passed, burned.
It was hard to breathe; it felt like the bridge of his nose had been split.
When he turned his face, which had been knocked aside, back toward them, he saw expressions as if they were looking at a monster.
"Hah!"
Guessing why they had such dumbfounded looks, Kanghyeok hissed through his teeth.
*Knit, knit.*
He could feel the split bridge of his nose mending.
"Fucking monster..."
After a brief hesitation, the men scowled and rushed him all at once.
Their swinging knives cut sharply through the air, and a skin-prickling killing intent washed over him along with the cold.
Kanghyeok advanced boldly into their midst and swung his kukri.
*Thunk!*
"Gyaaaah!"
A severed wrist flew into the air.
*Slice—!*
After slitting that man's throat, Kanghyeok kicked another in the solar plexus.
With a grunt of pain, the man doubled over. Kanghyeok grabbed him by the hair and slammed him onto the hood of a car.
*CRASH!*
The tip of the kukri, having pierced the man's neck, struck the car hood with a loud noise.
*One left.*
When he turned his gaze to the only one of Iron Mask's men still standing, the man flinched and backed away.
But then, as if realizing he was the only one left to stop Kanghyeok, his eyes glinted and he took a stance.
"Where were you trained?"
There was no bewilderment or contempt in the man's question.
Iron Mask's subordinate was also a trained individual.
Just as a professional recognizes another professional, a trained man recognizes another.
Even setting aside the fact that he didn't die from gunshots, the skill Kanghyeok displayed was on a level unparalleled even among trained professionals.
To the point where one couldn't help but feel respect and admiration, even for an enemy.
"Come."
Seeing that Kanghyeok had no intention of answering, the man pressed his lips together until they turned white, then lowered his stance, holding his combat knife out.
*Scrape.*
The man approached slowly, dragging his feet, and Kanghyeok moved toward him, kukri in hand.
They both moved at the same time.
*Clack!*
The moment Kanghyeok's wrist collided with the man's, the man quickly pulled his arm back.
He then swung his knife toward Kanghyeok's eyes, while Kanghyeok swung his kukri toward the man's neck.
"Kht!"
*Whack!*
The man dodged the kukri by pulling his head back, almost bending his waist.
*Shink!*
And he blocked Kanghyeok's immediate follow-up attack. Wrist met wrist again, but this time, neither pulled back.
Instead, their arms tangled like two venomous snakes.
It was a fleeting moment.
The man's knife was pointed down, and Kanghyeok's kukri was pointed up.
*Scrape!*
As Kanghyeok closed the distance, their tangled arms were pushed toward the man, and the edge of the blade touched his chin.
The man had no time to react to the ice-cold touch of the blade.
*Slish—!*
A spray of crimson blood scattered from the kukri as it tore through skin, muscle, and blood vessels like the wind.
*Thud.*
As the man collapsed, Kanghyeok was the only one left standing.
"Hah, hah."
The breath escaping his lips froze white in the air.
"G-ghk."
The groans of the men bleeding out on the cold ground rose from below.
His blood-soaked hands looked as if they'd been splattered with paint. He could taste blood in his saliva and smell it in his nose.
"Hah."
Kanghyeok looked at his watch.
2 minutes and 15 seconds left.
It wasn't over.
There was still work to be done.
He had to find out what Protocol 8 was, and if it was dangerous, he had to stop it, no matter what.
Still, one cigarette should be fine.
Kanghyeok pulled a crumpled pack of cigarettes from his pocket, took out a crushed cigarette, and placed it between his lips.
*Flick, flick!*
The blood on his hand kept the flint from sparking, so he wiped his fingers on his pants.
Then he struck the flint again, creating a flame, and brought it to the cigarette in his mouth.
*Fwoosh!*
He extinguished the flame on the tip of the cigarette with a soft exhale, then took a deep drag, his cheeks hollowing.
He filled his lungs with the heavy yet smooth smoke, then pushed it out through his slightly parted lips.
It was a cold winter.
A night with no lights.
"Hoooo."
And so, a richer, clearer cloud of white smoke than usual spread out around Kanghyeok.
Kanghyeok took two more puffs from his cigarette, then moved.
Picking up a pistol, he reloaded the magazine as he approached a groaning man. With a dispassionate movement, he aimed the barrel at the man, whose bloodshot eyes were blinking.
"No, gurgle, don't."
*Crack!*
Kanghyeok shifted his gaze to another man.
He had been groaning, but now he held his breath, his face twitching.