Chapter 48
Chapter 48
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 50
Chapter Title: Leap (4)
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After heaving several ragged breaths, Su-ho slowly moved his hand. With an ice pillar embedded in his abdomen, regeneration would be difficult. He needed to remove the ice quickly.
But the question was how. He could just pull out the red chains and melt it away, but he couldn't use Jin Seong-hyeok's technique in front of the 5th branch onlookers.
He still had no intention of revealing that he could wield Hunter skills.
Gritting his teeth, Su-ho slowly pushed himself upright. He gripped the ice pillar protruding from his abdomen with both hands.
"Agh...!"
As he began yanking out the ice pillar through clenched teeth, the faces of the 5th branch spectators paled.
"That guy, is he really a Helper?! A Helper doing something like that?!"
"Shouldn't we stop him? What if he dies like that?!"
They spat out different words, but their expressions were uniformly grave.
It was only natural to be afraid in such a situation. Especially in front of a rampaging Hunter. A Helper who had taken a hit and was now pulling the object lodged in his own body—what madness was this?
In that moment, everyone instinctively sensed that Su-ho was no ordinary man.
"Kuh...!"
With a groan squeezed from his throat, Su-ho squeezed his eyes shut tight.
Squelch. At last, the ice pillar slid completely free from his body and clattered to the floor.
As he panted roughly and pressed a hand to the hole in his abdomen, he felt flesh knitting together beneath his fingertips.
Regeneration had begun. Su-ho let out a hollow chuckle as he prodded the wound.
Even thinking about it now, it was a monstrous body. And on another note, a question arose: if Won Tae-il had possessed this ability, could he have survived?
Won Tae-il. The moment Tae-il crossed his mind, Su-ho's mood sank inevitably. It was an undeniable fact that Tae-il had died due to his own stubbornness.
'No more regrets. Just don't do anything you'll regret.'
As if sensing Su-ho's emotions, Jin Seong-hyeok spoke calmly.
'Right. That way, you'll have something to say to that kid later.'
Jin Seong-hyeok was correct. If he didn't change after driving Tae-il to his death through his own weakness, what was the point?
His right earlobe grew hot—the one with Tae-il's piercing.
'Mr. Jin Seong-hyeok.'
It was a resolute tone.
'First, I need to knock him out.'
His gaze slowly lifted toward Eric.
'Yeah. Better hurry if you don't want to end up stuffed.'
Recalling Eric's hobby of taxidermying monster corpses, Su-ho shuddered inwardly.
'Then I'll have to give it my all.'
With those words, Su-ho charged at Eric. Clenching his fist, he drove it straight into Eric's abdomen.
"Guhk!"
Without pause, he seized Eric's throat and pressed down. To knock him out quickly. As his neck was compressed, Eric began thrashing like he was having a seizure.
'Careful!'
A chill ran through him, and Su-ho looked up. Sure enough, shards of ice hovered like blades, aimed at him—poised to riddle his body with holes at any moment. Su-ho's gaze shifted back to Eric.
Once unconscious, he wouldn't be able to use his ability anyway. Su-ho tightened his grip on Eric's throat.
"That Helper's gonna kill Eric! Someone stop him!"
A worried voice rose from the 5th branch crowd, but Su-ho didn't let go.
Eric's pupils rolled upward, whites showing. At the same moment, the ice shards targeting Su-ho surged forward, as if delivering a final strike.
Pik, pik—
The shards embedded one by one into Su-ho's body. He didn't dodge. Amid the spreading pain, his gaze remained fixed on Eric.
The instant Eric's consciousness blurred and he teetered on the brink of death, Su-ho swiftly released his grip.
'Mr. Jin Seong-hyeok!'
At Su-ho's call, Jin Seong-hyeok seized control of his body.
"Hoo."
Jin Seong-hyeok exhaled lightly through his mouth and eyed Eric.
'Come to think of it, didn't you absorb An Ji-young's control ability?'
'Ah...!'
Su-ho gasped as the memory hit him.
'If you'd used it sooner, we wouldn't have gone through all this.'
He'd forgotten. About absorbing part of Ji-young's control power. Jin Seong-hyeok glanced toward the second-floor stands.
'Well, it's perfect for putting on a show.'
No matter how subtly he used the ability, having Su-ho personally step up and tank hits while subduing the rampaging Hunter made for a better demonstration.
The 5th branch folks and the suspicious higher-ups would have to acknowledge that Su-ho had reverted the berserk Hunter at the risk of his own life.
And as a bonus, Su-ho could dodge a few questions about how exactly he'd done it.
'Absorb.'
Jin Seong-hyeok placed a hand on Eric's chest and clicked his tongue. Touching another man's chest—not even a woman's. He needed to finish quickly and pull away. Focusing fiercely, the clumps infesting Eric's body began flowing into Su-ho's en masse.
A powerless, nauseating revulsion. Negative emotions piled up—ones he could never grow accustomed to—and Su-ho began panting as if his chest were tightening.
'Jin... Mr. Seong-hyeok... How much longer?'
'Hold on. Almost done.'
It wasn't just Su-ho. Even Jin Seong-hyeok, confronting the clumps directly, felt like retching. The absorption halted only when it felt like needles were stabbing his temples.
'Cha Su-ho.'
'Got it.'
Reclaiming his body as if it were his turn, Su-ho let out a short breath.
"Hoo."
Su-ho checked Eric's body. The invading energies had mostly vanished, and the remnants began bursting one by one in chain reactions the moment he initiated Clean. Confirming Eric's stabilization, Su-ho slowly withdrew his hand.
Was it thanks to his boosted stamina? His vision swam, but unlike last time, there was no nosebleed or collapse. Staggering to his feet, Su-ho lifted his head toward the second-floor stands.
"Clean."
Everyone perked up at the word from Su-ho's lips.
"It's over."
The 5th branch crowd was skeptical at the declaration that Clean was complete. Staring at the motionless Eric, some muttered if Su-ho had killed him.
Su-ho gestured for the security personnel to verify.
One hesitant guard entered the barrier. Approaching Eric cautiously, he pulled something out.
A handheld flashlight. Flipping back Eric's eyelid to check his pupil, the guard froze.
"His pupils—they're back to normal!"
The 5th branch erupted in murmurs at the shout. Restored pupils meant a return to his pre-rampage state. But the examiners looked incredulous.
Derek appeared with a lukewarm expression at the report.
"First, let's move him to the exam room for confirmation!"
The other guards brought a stretcher from afar.
"Eyepatch him, just in case!"
Su-ho watched Derek instruct the guards and Eric being carted away, then sank to the floor in exhaustion.
His stomach churned. Like everything inside him might spill out at any moment.
Only after Su-ho collapsed did Derek seem to remember, asking with a worried face.
"Are you alright?!"
It was absurd. They'd dragged in an SS-grade rampaging Hunter and even raised a barrier, yet now he feigned concern. Su-ho wanted to snap back, but he lacked the energy. Just sensing the clumps filling his body was torment enough.
Still, Su-ho sharpened his focus. When facing Ji-young, he'd blacked out and never learned how the clumps dissipated. Now, with his mind clear, he had to observe.
How his body processed the absorbed clumps.
"I need some rest."
Derek gaped at Su-ho extracting the half-melted ice shards from his body as he spoke, then quickly replied.
"Understood! I'll escort you right away. For treatment...!"
"No need."
"Ah, then to the recovery room...!"
Su-ho eyed the eagerly leading Derek with pity and rose to his feet.
The expressions of the 5th branch Hunters and Helpers watching from the second-floor stands varied wildly.
Some buzzed with excitement, others gaped in shock. Some shook their heads in disbelief.
"Leri."
At the burly man's call, his companion Tag replied.
"Were you about to ask if that's even possible?"
His blue eyes obsessively tracked Su-ho departing the arena.
"I've been wondering the same. One thing's for sure. If he really reverted Eric..."
Leri flashed a sly smile.
"We drag him to the 5th branch right now."
Clark, who'd been watching sourly, spoke up.
"It's not confirmed yet. We need to observe if that Helper truly reverted Eric."
"Don't need confirmation. Guts to face an SS-grade rampage without flinching? That's enough to bring him."
"Scarlett!"
Scarlett tossed her red hair and scoffed.
"Clark, with Jin Seong-hyeok dead, no reason to hate the 1st branch anymore, right?"
"It wasn't about Jin. It was embarrassing having skillless pretenders claim SS-grade status."
Scarlett furrowed her brow.
"That's just your opinion. Others won't see it that way."
In the heated atmosphere, a boyish young man shot to his feet.
"Enough—no need to fight here. And we all agree on this. If that Helper can revert rampages..."
The varied expressions of the 5th branch unified.
"We bring him to our branch, no matter what it takes."
All nodded in agreement.