Chapter 92
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 92
Chapter Title: Villain (8)
-----------------------------------------------------------------
"I'm going crazy..."
I stopped time and threw myself into the black hole first.
Getting out of the sinkhole was simple.
All you had to do was dive into the pooled water inside the black hole. Just like diving into a valley stream in the summer, the moment your head fully submerged, the world flipped upside down.
The view from underwater wouldn't change. Beneath your feet stretched endless deep darkness, and to the right, front, back—everywhere was just stagnant black water. The only thing visible was the light shining down from above your head.
I swam upward toward that light.
"Puha—!"
I exhaled roughly and wiped my face.
A rural mountain ridge somewhere. Around the sinkhole stood a haphazard barricade, and two male hunters who had been patrolling it stood frozen in place.
I swam to the edge of the sinkhole boundary.
I gripped the ground, pulled myself out of the water, and shook it off.
The black water inside the sinkhole was different from regular water. A few shakes right there got rid of the moisture easily.
"That's... three times now..."
I glanced at the timer in the corner of my vision ticking down one second at a time and moved away from the male hunters.
Today, I'd used my time stop skill three times.
Once when entering the sinkhole.
Once the moment I saw the arrows flying toward us.
And once now, escaping the sinkhole.
Once time started flowing again, I just had to walk back toward the sinkhole.
Then help Ji-su and Hye-jeong get out.
"Fuck... he... he's really dead?"
Kim Cheol-su was dead.
Those few short words had become reality and shoved right in my face.
The image of Kim Cheol-su facing death flickered before my eyes again.
Lifeless eyes... a massive arrow lodged in his heart... blood slowly staining the ground... a meaningless death, unable to lift a hand or foot due to Ji-su's skill...
"Urk..."
I swallowed down the nauseating feeling surging up from my chest.
This was the first time I'd witnessed death right in front of me.
"Ji-su and Hye-jeong... they seemed totally unfazed..."
True to veteran hunters, they never lost their composure.
While checking Kim Cheol-su's condition, they kept their senses sharp, scanning the surroundings with their eyes.
Bracing for the next attack, they devised the most efficient course of action and methodically cleared the area with machine-like precision, no wasted moves.
Honestly, I'd entered the sinkhole feeling half like I was playing a game.
It felt just like playing a video game. Stab monsters with my spear with Ji-su's help. Kill monsters, level up. Level up, stats go up, my dick gets stronger. Then I use that stronger dick to tear through Ji-su's hymen and blast a nice creampie inside her. That was the lighthearted mindset I'd stepped into the sinkhole with.
I hadn't thought deeply about the villain either.
To me, the villain was just a slightly tougher no-name trash mob.
Ji-su and Hye-jeong would handle it without me needing to lift a finger.
If it showed up in front of me, I'd stop time and help out.
And if it was a woman, I'd yank her pants off and shove my holy sword right into her pussy.
That's the idiotic shit I'd been subconsciously thinking.
"Couldn't even see it..."
When that sound like the air itself was being ripped apart echoed inside the sinkhole, I immediately used my time stop skill. Shouted "Time Stop!"
But the enemy's attack had already reached us. Hye-jeong was slapping away the arrow with her hand as it exploded. White light and red flames were engulfing her palm.
The one minute I could stop time.
I moved Hye-jeong behind a distant tree and checked the direction the attack came from.
Trace back the arrow's path, and there had to be the villain who'd fired it.
But no matter how hard I focused, all I saw were trees. Not a single thing that could be called an enemy.
"If I'd checked on Kim Cheol-su back then instead... could I have saved him?"
At the time, panic and fear had my brain frozen solid.
All I could think was that I needed to get back to Hye-jeong fast and hide.
"What do I even say to Da-hye...?"
Da-hye wouldn't have wanted her husband dead either.
Even if they were distant now, they'd once loved each other passionately.
[Ding!]
[Time begins to flow again!]
As time resumed, the frozen world began to move.
The sounds of the forest returned, tickling my ears.
The wind rustled the branches, leaves rustled softly.
One minute was short.
Far too short to sort out my jumbled thoughts.
"For now, help Ji-su."
I shook off the distractions as best I could.
I couldn't snap to cold rationality like Ji-su or Hye-jeong, but I had to at least try to mimic it.
When Ji-su and Hye-jeong emerged carrying the unconscious woman, a commotion broke out.
The hunters guarding the sinkhole helped pull Ji-su and Hye-jeong—who had surfaced on the black water—along with the rookie hunters.
I blended in naturally among them as Ji-su's acquaintance.
Hye-jeong went back into the sinkhole and brought out Kim Cheol-su's body.
In the meantime, Ji-su roughly explained the situation to the guard hunters and contacted Kim Cheol-su's guild.
Apparently, when a hunter dies inside a sinkhole, protocol is to notify their guild first.
Then the guild dispatches people to the scene, determines cause of death, and informs the family.
They laid out the rookies and Kim Cheol-su's body neatly on the ground. While Ya Hye-jeong explained the details to the guard hunters, Ji-su whispered to me.
"Oppa, you should head back first. I'll open a portal for you. Go home and rest."
"Me, go back alone?"
"Things are about to get really annoying from here. The guild managing this sinkhole will send people. Kim Cheol-su's guild and the ones those women belong to will dispatch reps too."
"..."
"Might even have to go back inside and explain everything in detail. It'll take a while. And it's easier to get our stories straight with two people than three..."
I nodded at Ji-su's words.
The guild reps would definitely take interest in me.
A seemingly ordinary guy hanging around S-Rank hunter Jeong Ji-su and A-Rank hunter Ya Hye-jeong.
One who popped up out of nowhere and started lounging around the moment Ji-su and Hye-jeong exited the sinkhole.
It'd look suspicious as hell.
"Got it. I'll wait quietly at home. Don't push yourself too hard coming back. You know you're pregnant, right?"
"I know."
Ji-su let out a hollow chuckle, her tone self-deprecating.
"Should've just stayed home and rested like you said, oppa. Ended up showing our kid nothing but bad scenes for no reason."
"What are you talking about... We saved those four over there thanks to you."
"..."
I deliberately pulled out the positive side.
This day's events were definitely not good for prenatal care.
But regretting the past with 'should've done this or that' changed nothing.
I had to force a positive outlook. Turn my eyes from the negatives and focus only on the good.
"If we hadn't gone into the sinkhole today, those kids wouldn't have made it out alive either."
"Yeah... you're right."
Ji-su seemed to steel herself, smiling as she pushed me away.
"Don't go outside. Don't invite any other women over. Wait obediently at home. Got it?"
"Got it."
I gave her a light kiss to ease her worries.
"Hey! Can't you handle even one simple job right!?"
My sister's palm slapped my cheek mercilessly.
With the sharp smack, my legs gave out, and I collapsed to the ground.
"Was it that hard to drag one male and four females here?"
"Eek..."
Sister grabbed my ear tight and yanked it.
The pain felt like my ear would rip off. I grabbed her hand, grimacing.
"You want me to really slice off this long ear of yours? Huh?"
"I'm sorry."
"Now I have to start over because of you! Go out again, find a decent guy! Fuck him! Round up more bitches who can be breeding stock! I have to do this all again!"
Red flames erupted from sister's body.
They roared up from her toes, engulfing her entirely.
The puffy pink dress she wore burned away in an instant, vanishing without a trace.
Three tails hidden beneath the dress turned red, and her black pupils contracted into vertical slits like a beast's, glaring at me.
"Kgh... Sister..."
"What? Hot? Oh right, elves are weak to fire, aren't they?"
I swallowed my breath against the indescribable agony.
From experience, talking back now would only make the punishment worse.
Best to just quietly endure until sister's mood settled.
"That's what you get for having trash monster elf blood!"
"..."
Looked like I'd have to tough out this pain for a good while.