Eve 02: How Many Times?
How many times. How many times. She really beat her that many times.
"Ha, haa…."
She struck her until her breaths came out sticky and drawn out.
"Why? Hu, t, tired?"
Shin Gaon twisted her lips in a sneer. Even though she herself was so exhausted she could barely speak, she was still bluffing like a pro.
"…."
But there was no snappy comeback for that bluster. It was simply astonishing that she could still stand after taking that much punishment.
In any case, a hunter's stamina wasn't infinite. Both of them were visibly worn out.
Of course, being tired didn't mean they stopped.
"I'll smash you to pieces, you dog!"
Shin Gaon charged again without a hint of fatigue. 'This isn't a hunt, you psycho!' The savage tone was just icing on the cake. It was utterly incomprehensible how anyone could spout that kind of talk at another human.
But she was noticeably slowing down. Her movements were full of openings now. No matter how much she masked the pain with her masochistic thrills, her physical limits were clear.
Whoosh—
Yeonwoo slipped past Shin Gaon's side like a matador dodging a bull.
Crack!
She immediately swept her leg out.
"Hahahaack!"
Shin Gaon let out a sudden wail. It wasn't a cry of pain at all—more like a manic cackle laced with madness.
"…You!"
There wasn't even time to spit out crazy bitch!
Shin Gaon chose to sacrifice her own foot. The instant the calf kick landed, she halted her momentum as if she'd been waiting for it, then clasped her hands together and smashed down at Yeonwoo.
'Screwed.'
Her opponent was a monster who'd subdued werewolves barehanded—a gorilla, in other words. Yeonwoo had no confidence in how much this fragile body could take.
So she had to minimize the damage somehow.
"Hup."
Yeonwoo sucked in a breath and curled her whole body into a ball.
Thud!
A massive impact slammed into her back at the same time. It burned like molten iron had been poured on her, her spine tingling hotly.
But it was more bearable than she'd thought. The weapon she'd gotten as a favor in the Ant Nest was proving useful.
'This thing… works pretty well!'
The general-grade weapon Broken Staff's option was ridiculously named Crouch. It literally reduced damage when you crouched. Thanks to it, crouching itself was basically an option for Yeonwoo now.
And likewise, another legacy from the Ant Nest. Timid Avenger amplified Yeonwoo's desperate struggles even further.
"Die!"
Yeonwoo roared and swung her arm wildly. She drove her elbow straight into Shin Gaon's shin.
Crunch!
It landed heavy. That was definitely the sound of something breaking wrong.
"Ha, haa…!"
Even in that moment, Shin Gaon laughed. She let out something indistinguishable between a scream and a chuckle.
Her hands didn't stop, of course. Amid it all, she clenched her fist to keep pounding on Yeonwoo.
"Enough!"
Yeonwoo yelled in utter exasperation. At this point, anyone else would have given up. But this woman knew no surrender, so Yeonwoo would have to teach her with her body.
Yeonwoo grabbed Shin Gaon's foot with both hands right away. Then, rolling her body into a ball, she twisted the shattered shin with her entire frame.
"Grahack!"
This time, she couldn't endure it.
Thud.
With a guttural cry, Shin Gaon's body collapsed.
"F-fuck…!"
But even after falling, she didn't stop. Shin Gaon gritted her teeth and resisted, but Yeonwoo just twisted the foot again each time.
Only after five more desperate flails did Shin Gaon's movements finally cease.
"Haa, haa…."
Yeonwoo panted heavily. With the realization that it was finally over, her back burned fiercely. It was insane-level power. It throbbed so badly she wondered if something wasn't fractured.
"You lost. It's over."
Whether it was frustration at defeat or rage at being pinned immobile by her own foot, Shin Gaon's face flushed red as she gnashed her teeth and growled.
"…This sucks!"
And above all, Yeonwoo's victory declaration grated on her nerves.
'What a twisted personality.'
Saying more would just rile her up further. So.
"You charge in blindly without thinking, that's why you lose."
"Shut your damn mouth!"
Of course she couldn't hold back. Giving advice was the victor's rightful privilege.
In stark contrast to Shin Gaon's heated reaction, a calm smile played on Yeonwoo's lips.
"Offering flesh to take bone? You watch too many movies."
"Sh-shut up! You got hit too!"
"That's exactly the problem. You even blew your chance when you had me."
"Ughhh…!"
Grind. Grrrind. The teeth-gnashing was so loud it vibrated through the gripped foot past her ears.
"Fhew."
Savoring that satisfying sound, Yeonwoo exhaled comfortably.
"How did it come to this."
They'd come to kill wolves, and here she was wrestling this beast of a woman.
Of course, thanks to it, the werewolves had been easy pickings, padding her sense of superiority quite nicely. Still, it didn't feel like a fair trade.
"Well, whatever. Can't pick a fight with everything."
Veteran hunters faced all sorts of crap. There'd even been guys picking fights over her eating calorie bars in front of them.
"Ha, haha!"
Then Shin Gaon laughed. She pressed her head to the ground and cackled as if it were hilarious.
"What're you on about? A chick who smashed a dog bastard with a streetlight—how am I supposed to hold back?"
"Uh…."
Yeonwoo's head tilted sideways. Fair point. Yeah, that'd be hard to ignore.
"But why start a fight over it?"
"What do you want me to do about it?"
What an absurd attitude. Yeonwoo itched to give her foot another twist.
"Is that how you act after jumping me?"
"Ha, haha. Me? What're you saying?"
Shin Gaon snapped her head up and scowled at Yeonwoo in disbelief.
"You threw the first punch, you damn bitch."
"Uh… well…."
Come to think of it, yeah, she'd slapped her first in a fit of impatience.
"But! You. Touched… me. F-first!"
It was embarrassing to even voice such an accusation. Why was she having to say this crap to a thrill-crazed woman she'd just met today? Her heart felt heavy.
"Ha."
Shin Gaon let out a short laugh. But then she squeezed her eyes shut and shuddered.
"Hahat, ahahat! Uh, hehe. Ahahaha!"
Soon she was shaking wildly with laughter. She didn't stop until her eyes brimmed with tears.
"What's so funny?"
"C'mon. A bitch who beats a person's leg to a pulp over a little ass grope—and you don't think that's hilarious?"
Shin Gaon spread her hand demonstratively, then clenched and unclenched it as if reliving the sensation.
"Thinking about it, the thrill was pretty good on this end too."
"…Let's drop it."
This was going nowhere. Their thoughts weren't connecting, let alone a conversation—they were parallel lines to infinity. Utterly pointless.
She just wanted her weapon and to go home.
"This feels unfair."
"Still can't accept the loss?"
"That's part of it. But you're always painting me as the crazy one."
"Ha."
Ridiculous. Talking more would just hurt her jaw.
'No more words.' She resolved not to react anymore.
"Why's a pervert like you always drawing lines like that."
"No! I-I'm not! Why me!"
Yeonwoo shouted. That short word—pervert—tangled her heart in knots. What if, just maybe, she'd somehow figured out Yeonwoo had gone from man to woman?
'No way that's possible…?'
Absurd. Especially to this muscle-brained lunatic who probably had rocks for brains.
"I didn't even need to help you in the first place."
Shin Gaon brought up something completely unexpected. Back when Yeonwoo had run into those four hunters.
"You could've beaten them to death if you wanted. Right? So why play weak? Hmm?"
"No, that's…!"
Yeonwoo tried to defend herself, but the words wouldn't come.
Honestly, she'd been flustered then too. If Shin Gaon hadn't shown up, she might've actually pulled a weapon and fought.
Seeing Yeonwoo so visibly rattled, Shin Gaon smirked viciously.
"You wanted something out of it, huh? Ahh, should I have just left you?"
"W-what are you talking about!"
"Makes me think that's your kink. Acting all lecherous, then getting gangbanged—you into that, pervert?"
"…!"
Yeonwoo's mouth gaped blankly. The scene Shin Gaon described flashed in her mind—and boom! Her head went white.
Her face heated up. Her body stiffened inexplicably. She desperately racked her brain for how to explain this insane misunderstanding, how to even phrase it.
But she couldn't put into words a sensation she didn't understand herself.
"No, it's not, no… hey…."
Even squeezing out words desperately, only lame, meaningless sputters emerged.
"D-don't say it… like that…."
She just wanted this over. And there was only one way to end it.
The moment Yeonwoo steeled herself—
"Ha."
Shin Gaon made a short sound. But it was a different laugh from before. All because of Yeonwoo's reaction. Her floundering was amusing, but more noticeably, the grip on her foot had weakened.
The mood soured instantly. Shin Gaon thought. They'd been fighting so thrillingly until a second ago—what a pathetic clown show this was turning into. Better to end it before it got uglier.
Shin Gaon jerked her upper body up. She reached to smash her fist into Yeonwoo's face—
"…Ha."
The same sound slipped from Shin Gaon's mouth. But this time, it meant something entirely different.
The instant she saw Yeonwoo's face, color flooded Shin Gaon's own.
Moonlight illuminated cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Wandering eyes shook on the verge of tears, lost. Trembling shoulders quivered helplessly, so pitiful.
And Yeonwoo was straddling her. The shivers transmitted directly, body to body.
Shin Gaon fell silent.
The androgynous beauty was secondary. She'd thought the thrill came purely from Yeonwoo's skill.
Maybe… she'd been wrong.
It was stimulating. This face. This situation. This sight.
Ah, Shin Gaon thought again. This is the thrill. A massive one.
Her blood surged.
"Ha. You're turning me on."
She couldn't hold back anymore.
"Hey. Wanna grab a drink and—"
Crack!
But Shin Gaon's cheap pickup line scattered into the air.
Yeonwoo, on the verge of her face exploding, had kneed her right in the head.
This was Yeonwoo's one and only way to end the situation.