Chapter 44
Chapter 44
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 44
Chapter Title: A Shared End
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Screech.
Scraping his shoulder against the wall, Kanghyeok made his way toward the stairs.
A limping gait, a staggering body.
Walking precariously, Kanghyeok collapsed in the corpse-strewn hallway before he could reach the stairs.
“Hah, hah.”
His entire body screamed with every breath.
“Hsss, whooo.”
Kanghyeok swallowed dryly and thrust a hand into his pocket. He pulled out a cigarette and a lighter, placed the cigarette between his lips, and flicked the flint.
Click, click, click.
The blood on his hand kept the lighter from sparking a flame on the first try.
Scrape.
After rubbing his finger on the wall, he flicked the flint again, and the lighter barely managed to produce a spark.
Leaning his back against the wall, Kanghyeok brought the lighter close, drawing on the filter to light the tip of the cigarette.
“Whoo.”
Kanghyeok took a drag, his expression hazy.
The sound of the rain seemed to have grown stronger, and the coppery stench of blood from the corpses faded with the cigarette smoke.
“Whoooo.”
As he exhaled a second plume of smoke, Kanghyeok's face was visibly more relaxed than before.
He could feel his body recovering.
It wasn't the dramatic recovery of a superhero from a movie, but it was certainly a healing rate beyond human limits.
However, he noticed something was different from before.
‘Why?’
Kanghyeok recalled the grenade explosion at the club.
His injuries were less severe than then, but his recovery was significantly slower.
Was it because that godlike being wasn't here?
But that being had said this healing ability was Kanghyeok's from the start.
If so, could he recover as quickly as he had then, once he got used to handling this power?
“Hah!”
It wasn't a situation or a physical state to be laughing in, but a laugh escaped him nonetheless.
Even he found it absurd to be going through something like this.
Kanghyeok took a drag on his cigarette, the corners of his mouth turned up in a slight smile.
“Whoo!”
It must be because of the rain.
That stray thoughts were popping into his head, that the cigarette tasted damn good.
“Whoooo!”
Kanghyeok smoked, his gaze fixed on the top of the stairs.
There was still no sign of anyone, and no indication that Nobody was coming down.
What was he thinking?
What kind of expression would he have, waiting for him?
Perhaps he was venting his anger on his men who had fled.
Kanghyeok looked at the stairs and let the smoke drift from his lips.
‘Wait.’
‘I'm almost recovered.’
‘I'll be there soon to see for myself.’
‘Just a little longer, and I'll be recovered enough to fight without issue.’
‘That will be your end.’
‘It will also be the end of this mission, the moment I avenge the landlady.’
As he rotated his shoulder to check the joint, Kanghyeok winced at a sharp pain in his back.
Still, it was bearable.
Kanghyeok glanced at the rifle on the floor, then looked away with a bitter expression.
The explosion had bent the barrel, rendering it useless until it was repaired.
His pistol, however, was fine. Unfortunately, he only had one magazine left.
Kanghyeok briefly considered the guns among the corpses but shook his head and looked away.
He couldn't use those.
And he didn't want to.
One pistol and one kukri were enough to take care of Nobody.
Kanghyeok took one last, deep drag of his cigarette.
Sizzle.
The cherry flared brightly. He exhaled a long stream of smoke and tossed the butt into a pool of blood.
Then he pushed himself to his feet.
Thud, thud.
A starkly different gait from before.
With a stride that felt almost normal, Kanghyeok reached the stairs. He inserted the last magazine into his pistol and headed upstairs, to where Nobody was waiting.
Swoooosh!
The building's rooftop.
Right next to the door, Nobody exhaled a cloud of smoke.
Standing in the rain without an umbrella, he brought the cigarette, cupped in his hand, to his lips.
His men had been wiped out; the ones who were still alive had all fled.
Only Kanghyeok and Nobody remained in this hideous building.
“Heh heh.”
Nobody chuckled, gazing at the city, which seemed trapped in the clouds.
There were no lights around, and the pouring rain enveloped the city, making it feel as if he had stepped into a surreal landscape painting.
A good day to die.
Nobody truly thought so.
The moment he had long dreamed of was finally within reach, and Nobody was ready to gladly accept the perfect death Kanghyeok would grant him.
However, this didn't mean he would meekly offer his neck.
It was closer to a declaration that he would fight with everything he had.
The death that would come at the end of this battle would be sweeter than anything.
Swoooosh!
Footsteps could be heard over the sound of the downpour.
The sound of someone climbing the stairs.
Nobody turned to the door with a fond look, like someone who had waited a long time for a lover.
Creeak.
The steel door swung open.
But it didn't feel like someone had opened it by the handle; it felt like it had been pushed open from the hinge side.
Kanghyeok was behind the door, waiting for the right moment, the right opportunity.
‘He's right in front of me.’
The distance of a single step.
Close enough to touch.
Just as Nobody had waited for Kanghyeok, Kanghyeok too had waited for this moment to face Nobody.
Kanghyeok exhaled as quietly as possible, focusing on Nobody's presence next to the door.
Thud.
As if he could no longer bear it, Nobody revealed himself in front of the door.
Nobody stared at Kanghyeok with unnervingly wide eyes, the corner of his mouth lifting into a smirk.
A tattered figure.
It wasn't a neat and tidy appearance, but that was what he liked about it.
Seeing Kanghyeok, who looked like the very incarnation of war, Nobody muttered with a reverent expression.
“Perfect.”
The moment that mutter ended.
The two men moved simultaneously, as if they had waited a thousand years for this moment.
Crack!
Kanghyeok aimed his pistol at Nobody's head,
Swish!
while Nobody twisted his upper body and swung a knife at Kanghyeok.
Swish! Shiiing!
A flurry of relentless attacks.
Kanghyeok blocked the attacks, as if to stop Nobody's knife-wielding wrist.
Nobody, holding his knife in a reverse grip like an ice pick, tried to stab Kanghyeok between the eyes, but Kanghyeok blocked his arm with the hand holding the pistol.
The trembling knife and pistol.
And beyond them, each other's faces.
Nobody loved every moment of this.
Even the heavy downpour that seemed to weigh his body down.
“Hoo!”
Kanghyeok shoved the arm away and aimed the muzzle at Nobody, but even as his arm was flung back, Nobody managed to deeply slash the back of Kanghyeok's hand with his knife.
Crack! Splat!
As the gunshot rang out, blood trickled from both men.
From the back of Kanghyeok's hand.
From Nobody's ruptured ear.
“Hahaha!”
Nobody grinned ear to ear and swung his knife.
Clang! Claang!
He was aiming for Kanghyeok's pistol.
Crack!
The moment Kanghyeok pulled the trigger, a wide swing of the knife struck the side of the pistol.
Splash.
The pistol sank into the ankle-deep rainwater.
Nobody laughed maniacally and swung his knife at Kanghyeok, whose gaze had shifted to the pistol.
Thwack!
Kanghyeok slapped Nobody's forearm in the direction of the swing and aimed his kukri at Nobody's side.
Thud!
Nobody blocked Kanghyeok's wrist with his arm,
Swish!
and aimed the tip of his knife at Kanghyeok's eye.
Grab!
Kanghyeok grabbed Nobody's sleeve to stop the attack.
Then he yanked him closer, closing the distance, and spun the kukri in his other hand into a reverse grip.
Swoosh!
Like the fang of a predator pouncing on its prey, the kukri swung at Nobody's neck.
Nobody ducked, and the kukri cut through the air, scattering raindrops in all directions.
What came next.
Nobody pressed in close to Kanghyeok, who was trying to create distance.
Kanghyeok read Nobody's next move from his fingertips, his toes, his eyes.
Nobody's hand went inside his jacket.
Before his arm could come back out, Kanghyeok pushed him away.
Crack!
But Nobody pulled the trigger without even taking the pistol out of his jacket.
The muzzle was pointed at Kanghyeok's heart.
The scent of blood instantly filled his breath, and a chilling pain spread through his entire body.
Nobody grabbed a fistful of Kanghyeok's hair and shoved the pistol in his face,
Thud!
but Kanghyeok plunged his kukri into Nobody's side and pulled his head back.
“Gack, kaak!”
Nobody staggered, glaring at Kanghyeok.
The spot where the kukri had passed through burned like a brand.
The wound was deep.
Because of the kukri's axe-like shape.
His internal organs damaged, Nobody bared his teeth at Kanghyeok and smiled.
‘How?’
He couldn't understand how Kanghyeok could still move after being shot near the heart.
It was a situation that should have caused panic and astonishment.
But Nobody felt a satisfying warmth spreading in his chest.
‘I'm a lucky man.’
‘To be able to die by this man's hand.’
‘To be able to die with this man.’
Nobody turned his gun on Kanghyeok, who was reaching for his own pistol.
Clank!
The bullet sent Kanghyeok's pistol flying far away.
Kanghyeok's sharp gaze fell on Nobody, who then removed the magazine from his pistol.
Kanghyeok watched him with questioning eyes.
“Let's enjoy this a little more.”
Nobody smirked, tossed the magazine off the building, and even disassembled the pistol before throwing it to the ground.
Then, with his eyes wide as if they would burst, he took a knife-fighting stance.
Hah, hah.
Was it because of the rain?
The blood-tinged breaths exhaled by Kanghyeok and Nobody froze white in the air.
The two men, each gripping a blade, dragged their feet as they approached one another.
And then, when the distance was close enough.
Whoosh!
As if determined to end it with this one attack, both men swung their respective weapons.
Kanghyeok aimed for Nobody's stomach.
Nobody aimed for Kanghyeok's neck.
Crunch!
Kanghyeok's kukri was the first to reach its target.
With a dull thud, the kukri pierced Nobody's stomach and sank into his organs.
Immediately after, Nobody's knife reached Kanghyeok.
Crack!
Even though he blocked the knife with his arm, he vividly felt the bone fracture.
“Kuh!”
“Kaaargh!”
Kanghyeok gritted his teeth and tightened his grip on the kukri.
At that, Nobody grabbed Kanghyeok's wrist with one hand.
“Gurg, guuuh!”
His organs damaged, Nobody trembled and strained to stop the kukri from going any deeper. Kanghyeok glared at him and drove his knee into the pommel of the blade.
Crunch!
“Heok.”
As the kukri plunged deeper, Nobody's body convulsed violently.
Kanghyeok twisted the kukri to finish him off completely.
Riiip!
Muscles tore, organs were churned, and a pain like lightning striking his brain washed over Nobody.
“Aaaaaargh!”
Nobody mustered all his strength and lunged at Kanghyeok.
At the same time, he kicked Kanghyeok's ankle, and the two men fell to the rooftop floor with a huge splash.
Clatter.
The kukri, embedded in Nobody's stomach, fell out. The impact made him scream out his agony through a mouth stretched wide.
“Haa, haaaak!”
Kanghyeok's face contorted as he looked up at Nobody, who was climbing on top of him.
How could he still move like this?
Nobody had entered a realm beyond that of an ordinary person.
Even Kanghyeok was appalled by his malice and venom, as if he were trying to burn away every last spark of his life.
Kanghyeok spotted the pistol just within reach and stretched his arm toward it.
It was then.
Shunk!
Though his face was twisted in pain, Nobody gave him an I-knew-it look.
“This part, hkk! Isn't, whoo! Bulletproof, I see.”
The knife had snaked under his jacket and was now embedded in Kanghyeok's side.
Even after being shot in the chest, Kanghyeok hadn't died.
He had guessed the jacket was made of bulletproof material, and as expected, the dress shirt offered no protection.
Grind.
Slowly twisting the knife, Nobody's lips contorted.
Kanghyeok clenched his jaw, his face trembling, and grabbed Nobody's wrist.
“Don't.”
Nobody put his weight into it, driving the knife deeper.
“Keuh!”
A groan finally escaped Kanghyeok's lips, and Nobody smiled with satisfaction.
The time allotted to Nobody was not long.
And Kanghyeok wouldn't have much time left either.
The end was approaching.
The end of this long, miserable life, where no hope could be found.
“This is the end.”
Nobody reached into his pocket and pulled out a small mechanical device.
He held the device near Kanghyeok's face, as if to show him, then shifted his gaze to the rain-soaked city.
“The end should be spectacular.”
Kanghyeok saw the device in Nobody's hand.
And he also saw the resolve and regret in Nobody's eyes.
He was trying to end it all.
“We're all going together. With us.”
Nobody's eyes shone more intensely than ever before.
Watching Nobody's thumb move toward the button on the detonator, Kanghyeok opened his mouth wide.
“Leila, now!”
Click!
As soon as Kanghyeok's words were out, Nobody pressed the detonator.