Sulking? Me?
Joo Se-ah showed no mercy in her strikes.
She mercilessly cut down the charging Iga Clan hunters.
'I'm already swamped killing monsters. Don't get in my way!'
She'd been hounded for ages by assassins sent from Japan and all sorts of sabotage attempts.
She'd overcome them all, but the resentment had piled up to the breaking point.
Still, with the enemy being the biggest power in Japan's hunter world, there'd been no chance for payback. She'd had no choice but to endure until now... but...
'Not content with tormenting me, now they're after Kang Moo-hyuk too?! A guy who's not even a hunter?'
Japan had finally crossed the line.
"Stop the witch!"
"Traps! Traps!"
"Damn it! We're so busy blocking Joo Se-ah that everywhere else is getting overrun!"
"Form a barrier and hold her back!"
Even as they were pushed back unilaterally by Joo Se-ah's breakthrough, the Iga Clan hunters activated all sorts of items and traps to mount a defense.
They weren't fleeing or holding back, so the fight grew increasingly fierce.
Explosions and screams filled the air, but no sound leaked out of the rundown apartment complex. The Slayer Guild had used expensive items to block the noise—same type as what Kim Myeong-jun had installed at Hanseong Enterprise.
With no need to worry about the surroundings, Joo Se-ah finally unleashed her full power.
Iron Skin
She'd only activated a tanker's basic reinforcement skill, but when Joo Se-ah used it, the effect was on another level entirely.
Her body itself was a weapon.
Just thrusting her fist forward and charging was like a several-dozen-ton dump truck barreling in.
Joo Se-ah sheathed her weapon and plunged into the Iga Clan hunters, swinging her iron fists.
She ignored most counterattacks. Even taking them head-on did little damage to her. Blades were useless too.
When enemies attacked with mana-charged strikes, she simply wrapped her body in mana to amp up her traits.
At this point, the Iga Clan hunters had no recourse but to curse the heavens.
'This is straight-up unfair!'
That was their honest sentiment.
But for hunters, talent was everything.
And that talent included their traits.
"Guhk... guh..."
"Huuuh..."
The hunters who cursed Joo Se-ah and the gods alike all collapsed to the floor.
Their dying breaths mixed with curses, but the words were slurred and indistinct.
But Joo Se-ah understood. The previous assassins she'd killed had spat similar grudges and maledictions.
She turned back to the blood-soaked scene and shot back.
"Don't blame me. You came to kill, so you were ready to die, right?"
With that, Joo Se-ah shattered their defensive line.
Thud. Thud. Thud-thud.
Ryushin, sitting in seiza with his Japanese sword across his knees, glared toward the entrance at the fearless footsteps.
Soon, Joo Se-ah appeared.
"Sorry to Hye-seong, I guess? Looks like I'm the one snagging the boss."
"You speak Japanese?"
"Nah. Item power, this one."
Joo Se-ah was using the translation artifact from the World Hunter Federation.
The one Alex had practically gotten strong-armed into handing over by Kang Moo-hyuk.
"I thought the only way was that rare translation skill only a handful have. Guess I've got more to report upstairs."
"You think you can escape from here?"
"What's stopping me?"
"......"
Joo Se-ah fell silent at the suddenly surging killing intent.
It was subtle, but unmistakable.
'Did hearing that elf talk about S-rank sharpen my senses? Feels more acute than before.'
Joo Se-ah charged her hands with mana and crossed her arms in an X.
Suddenly, a dazzling energy beam burst through the wall, slamming toward her head.
Ryushin smirked, thinking the trap had worked—then his face twisted moments later.
'She blocked that? How?'
The attack just now was a booby trap meticulously crafted by the alliance's tech division. Not only powerful, but so stealthy even the elders praised it.
While Ryushin panicked, Joo Se-ah drew her sword and smashed both walls. The hidden traps behind the wallpaper shattered instantly.
"If you were banking on this to act tough, color me disappointed."
Ryushin gritted his teeth, rose, and drew his blade.
"Damn it!"
Clang!
Their swords clashed and locked.
Joo Se-ah met Ryushin's glare through the blades and said,
"Is that all the curse words you got? If you're gonna swear, at least make it count. Like, 'fuck this shit, you dog-fuck!' Should I shove ink up your eyeballs and ram it in your ass?"
"How do you spew such filth... As expected of savage Chosun scum."
"And guys waving swords at peaceful folks aren't savage? This is me holding back. Call it mercy for a dead man walking."
Even on the brink of mortal combat, Joo Se-ah bantered with infuriating ease, unnerving Ryushin.
'No matter how strong Joo Se-ah is, this is way too relaxed... No way she's crossed that line, right?'
Ryushin shook off the foreboding and poured strength into his sword. Joo Se-ah pushed back. The locked blades screamed as they tore apart, filling the living room with ear-piercing metal shrieks.
"Not bad for a boss—you're holding up."
With curt praise, Joo Se-ah shoved Ryushin away. He stumbled back, off-balance, and she followed with a blinding three-strike slash. Ryushin flailed his sword in panic.
Clang! Claaang! Clang!
"!!"
Blocking Joo Se-ah's assault was half luck for Ryushin. Or maybe she hadn't gone all-out.
'Joo Se-ah's swordsmanship was only this good? She's not just some brute relying on tough skin?'
Ryushin realized he'd badly misjudged her. The entire Japanese hunter world had.
A lifetime kendo practitioner, he instantly recognized the refined precision in her strikes.
No amount of casual training could mimic that realm.
Hunters all honed weapons through combat, but Ryushin knew better than most that true mastery demanded more than battles alone.
"Nice block. You're one of the few to react to that. Not hopeless after all."
Her tone—like a kendo master instructing juniors, or a superior appraising scrubs—infuriated him.
"Quit the smug act and take my attacks first!"
Ryushin unleashed his school's secret technique.
Ninjutsu Kuki Shinryu ultimate move.
"Charyun Island!"
He raised his blade overhead to draw Joo Se-ah's eyes, then whipped it down—while spinning around to hide it behind his back.
Twisting like a corkscrew, he swung so the blade grazed his left thigh.
From the side, it traced a massive cartwheel arc, dropping low then rising to strike upward.
The lightning-fast sequence was flawless, honed over years.
The mana-infused blade surged between Joo Se-ah's legs.
Thud!
The rotation halted abruptly.
At its tip: Joo Se-ah's sole.
"Y-you blocked that... with your foot?"
Ryushin stared in stunned disbelief, frozen in humiliation. His ultimate move stopped by a sole.
"Hiding your sword for a swing? Big whoop."
"Impossible."
"Whether it's possible or not, block this first. Oh, and technique name—gotta say it?"
"Wh-what joke is—"
"Eh... let's call it 'Downward Chop' or whatever."
Slash!
Before he finished, Ryushin couldn't block the falling blade.
From crown to crotch.
Joo Se-ah's sword passed through.
Thud.
She addressed Ryushin's already-dead corpse.
"Knock it off already. I'll come when it's time."
"Why the hell am I here?"
Less than a day after crushing the Iga Clan, Joo Se-ah was in Najin, North Hamgyong Province.
The reason was simple: Kang Moo-hyuk had asked her to go.
She knew why he'd asked too: to smuggle into Russia.
And why smuggle? Also straightforward.
'All because of that crazy Russian bear.'
Igor Dudnik.
The S-rank hunter dubbed Russia's Tyrant.
This bastard had kidnapped Iron Will's two team leaders while heading to deal with Upu Mangbau.
Absurd. What did an S-rank lack that he'd snatch Korean hunters?
The answer was simple.
'Tyrun Guild, where the tyrant belongs, is eyeing Vladivostok. The longer the Upu Mangbau crisis drags, the more the Russian government will doubt Char Guild's capabilities and seek alternatives.'
Joo Se-ah steeled herself, replaying Kang Moo-hyuk's intel.
"Long time no see. Russians are tough sons of bitches. Might actually get to go all-out for once."
She'd arrived at a remote pier in Najin Port—not where big container ships docked, but a yacht marina for small boats.
At the rendezvous: amid flashy yachts, a single battered fishing boat bobbed.
"You must be Guild Master Joo Se-ah. We've been waiting. Hop aboard."
The man helmed what amounted to a dinghy fishing boat.
But his real identity: NIS agent.
Najin, bordering Russia, was infamous for smuggling drugs and contraband into Korea, crawling with criminals. Surveillance was mandatory.
Aboard, Joo Se-ah sighed at the sluggish chug of the outboard motor.
Once the port lights faded over the horizon, she couldn't hold back.
"You're not seriously planning to reach Vladivostok on this, right?"
"Didn't they tell you? You'll transfer midway."
"Transfer?"
"Right on time—there it is."
A lone light bobbed on the dark sea. Invisible to normals, but clear as day to hunter Joo Se-ah: a boat lit by a single lantern.
"A plane?"
"WIG craft. Blends plane and boat perks—pretty fast. Hydrofoils might edge it, but flying into Russian airspace gets you busted hard."
"Those exist?"
"Civilians don't know much, but Korea's a WIG powerhouse. Used for passengers, coastal patrol, military."
"So that's the super-fast boat Jang the team leader prepped."
"Yep. Not even 200 kilometers to Vladivostok. Link up with their pickup boat, ashore in under two hours, generous estimate."
Suddenly, guild members kidnapped by an S-rank.
How'd he think of this in that chaos?
'Thought I knew Kang Moo-hyuk pretty well...'
The more she learned, the less she knew.
'Whatever—at least he's not the enemy. But making the guild master smuggle? Working me to the bone.'
Joo Se-ah ground her teeth in mock grievance.
"Director Kang, just be guild master. Please don't do me like this."
Just before Joo Se-ah's smuggling run, Kang Moo-hyuk had arrived in Vladivostok.
Before meeting Kozlov, he'd called Cha Gil-ju.
-We accommodated Director Kang's urgent request, but Joo Se-ah cannot get caught in Russia. Their intel agency's got heavy pull. If illegal entry leaks, it could escalate to a diplomatic shitshow.
"No worries. Najin route's hush-hush even in Vladivostok. I'll clean up so the director has nothing to fret over."
-Still, NIS is thrilled. WIG craft for Russian smuggling? They welcomed it—didn't expect that angle. How'd you know?
Kang Moo-hyuk couldn't say. It was a go-to for big guilds in pinches.
He cleared his throat, changing tack.
"Apologies, but I should head out."
-Good luck.
Call ended. Kang Moo-hyuk's sole companion approached.
"Why'd you pick me, Director?"
No Song-rin questioned it.
He was puzzled at being tapped as Kang Moo-hyuk's bodyguard for Russia.
"We've got Jang Deok-gu and Expedition Leader Lee Jin-joo."
"With guild master and director both out, expedition leader takes command. Leaving Lee Jin-joo is obvious."
"And Jang? He syncs great with the guild master."
"Lee Jin-joo's still new. To keep order, need someone who knows the ins and outs, scares slackers straight."
"Scary more than stern..."
"External threats need deterring too. Gotta leave a bastion for the guild, just in case."
"So you don't trust me, huh."
No Song-rin sounded miffed.
'Sulking? Me?'
The thought surprised him.