Chapter 92
Chapter 92
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 95
Chapter Title: Deadlock (3)
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Jin Seong-hyeok? Were Deadlock and Jin Seong-hyeok acquaintances?
A massive hand, wrapped in muscles coiled tightly over bone like ropes, rose up. Deadlock raised his index finger and prodded Su-ho's forehead with his long nail.
"Where'd you pick up such a frail skin suit?"
A frail skin suit?
Whatever it was, it didn't matter. Deadlock was still a monster Su-ho had to kill.
Su-ho raised his palm. First things first, they were too close. He needed some distance.
Snap, boom—
With a massive shockwave, Deadlock was blasted away in an instant. Su-ho didn't miss the opening. He crooked his finger, and the flames chains swimming through the air instantly seized Deadlock's body.
No way it'd be this easy.
'Of course not.'
Jin Seong-hyeok's voice came with a chuckle. But it wasn't Jin Seong-hyeok laughing.
"Jin Seong-hyeok, what the hell happened to you..."
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
Su-ho glared at Deadlock and continued.
"Who's this Jin Seong-hyeok you're talking about? Take a good look. See who's standing in front of you."
Deadlock stared at Su-ho in silence. Then he tilted his head slightly and asked,
"And who are you?"
"Cha Su-ho."
"Who?"
"I said Cha Su-ho."
Whoosh. It happened in a flash. Deadlock slipped free from the flame chains and shoved his face right in front of Su-ho's.
"Not Jin Seong-hyeok?"
Su-ho flinched. Not only had Deadlock escaped the flame chains in an instant, but he'd closed the distance just as fast. For the first time in a while, Su-ho felt fear.
Fear of an overwhelmingly superior foe.
"This doesn't make sense."
Deadlock continued, sounding confused.
"I can feel Jin Seong-hyeok's power in you, but you're saying you're not him?"
A grinding sound came from his teeth.
"What nonsense."
The sound of slicing wind followed. At the same time, excruciating pain shot through Su-ho's chest, spreading across his entire body. It was instantaneous. The black sword Deadlock wielded had pierced straight through Su-ho's heart.
"Gah..."
Deadlock slowly withdrew the blade as Su-ho gasped in agony. Blood dripped from the razor-sharp edge onto the ground.
Blood gushed from the wound. Su-ho clutched his chest with one hand and staggered back, at which point flame chains roared up in front of him.
"Not Jin Seong-hyeok?"
Deadlock burst into laughter as he watched Su-ho slowly lift his head.
"Your heart got pierced, and you're still alive."
"That's why..."
Su-ho gritted his teeth, his eyes blazing.
"I told you..."
Crackle—!
A torrent of massive sparks erupted from Su-ho's body. The blue electricity shot straight toward Deadlock.
"Grrrrraaah!!"
The blue sparks clinging to Deadlock's body ignited fiercely. Inside them, his body convulsed like a man electrocuted.
Crackle, fizz.
Su-ho could clearly see Deadlock's muscles—devoid of skin—bursting one by one. The voltage was too much for them.
As Deadlock's body charred black, the blue sparks began to fade.
Any other monster would have crumbled to ash the moment the sparks vanished. But not Deadlock.
Even charred pitch-black, he slowly raised his head. His eyes still burned a vivid red.
"Right. If you were Jin Seong-hyeok..."
Whoosh, the blade flew at him.
"...you would've killed me before I could say a word."
Thud, the sword seemed to embed in Su-ho's body once. Then thunk, thunk—it stabbed repeatedly in quick succession.
Su-ho couldn't even see the movements. He only knew from the sounds and sensations that the blade was carving into him.
Thud.
Su-ho's knee hit the ground. Deadlock grabbed his hair as he knelt there, body shredded.
"How dare you wield Jin Seong-hyeok's power?"
It was strange. The way Deadlock said Jin Seong-hyeok's name sounded almost fond, like calling to an old friend. And when they first met, he'd slashed at the Hunters without hesitation, deeming them nuisances—but he hadn't attacked Su-ho until he denied being Jin Seong-hyeok.
"I've got a question."
Head gripped by the hair, Su-ho strained to look up.
"Why are you so obsessed with Jin Seong-hyeok?"
It made sense to be obsessed. Jin Seong-hyeok had cleared the Dead Zone single-handedly, so it was only natural for its boss, Deadlock, to fear him.
"Ah, is it because you're scared of him?"
Even with death a breath away, Su-ho's glaring eyes held no tremor.
"Heh, you think we fear Jin Seong-hyeok?"
Deadlock laughed, hoisting Su-ho into the air by his hair. Su-ho's body dangled, scalp screaming as if it might tear free.
"Ugh..."
Deadlock looked up at the writhing Su-ho and said,
"Isn't that obvious?"
"...What?"
"Looks like you still don't know."
His red eyes blazed like fire.
"Whether human or us... we all fear the spear."
Spear...? What?
He'd murmured so lowly that Su-ho missed the first word. As Su-ho opened his mouth to ask again, Jin Seong-hyeok's sharp voice rang in his mind.
'Cha Su-ho, snap out of it.'
This wasn't the time to chat with Deadlock. No need to dwell on his words. The thing was a monster—something to kill.
"Then... I'll just kill you."
Su-ho was talking to himself. At the same time, his thumb and middle finger snapped together with a click.
The rippling wave hit Deadlock, then bounced back to Su-ho.
Got you.
Su-ho unleashed power matching the returning wave.
Boom—.
Something exploded, spraying debris before Su-ho's eyes. Deadlock's grip on his hair loosened. Su-ho wouldn't miss this chance.
Crackle—.
A whip extended from his finger, piercing the wrist still clutching his hair.
"Kragh...!"
As Deadlock groaned, his severed wrist hit the ground. Su-ho leaped back.
Only now did Deadlock's full form come into view. A normal monster would have been reduced to scraps, but Deadlock stood tall with a gaping hole in his gut.
Deadlock's gaze dropped to the floor. Staring at his severed wrist, a creepy laugh bubbled from his mouth.
"Heh, heh heh heh."
Wrist chopped off, gut blown open—and he was laughing?
Fear began to creep up from Su-ho's feet like smoke. The technique meant to one-shot Deadlock had only punched a hole in his belly. And yet he stood unfazed, meaning this wasn't enough to kill him.
He had to stay sharp. One slip, and he'd really die by Deadlock's hand.
Su-ho worried he might regenerate, but Deadlock made no move to reattach or heal it.
After staring at his rolling wrist, Deadlock simply stomped it flat.
Crunch—.
Stepping over the mangled remains, he casually shook off the sword in his remaining hand.
Su-ho's eyes flashed. That motion looked familiar. It reminded him of Eun-woo's habit during spars—swinging her sword loose before gripping it tight, right before charging.
Deadlock was about to unleash a barrage.
Instinctively dodging, Su-ho twisted his body.
Whoosh—.
Watching the blade whistle past, Su-ho twisted the other way. It sliced through where he'd just been.
Whoosh, slash!
Su-ho steadily evaded the sword tearing through the air with ferocious speed. He wasn't just reacting to the blade—he recalled his spars with Eun-woo and Jin Seong-hyeok's advice, predicting its path with everything he had.
Fortunately, Deadlock moved exactly as anticipated.
Deadlock was impressive too. Gut still unhealed, he swung the sword one-handed like it was nothing.
Neither speed nor power had diminished.
Whoosh—.
"Hup!"
Let his guard down, and he'd be skewered dead. No room for relaxation.
Whoosh, slash!
He couldn't keep dodging forever.
Crackle—.
He needed a shield. Electricity would do.
The moment Deadlock's sword touched the blue current, sparks flew. Crackle—. The electric energy repelled the blade with a ferocious roar, sparking even more intensely.
"Playing an interesting game."
What?
"Playtime's over."
Deadlock tightened his grip. The blue currents blocking the sword like a shield began splitting in two. Facing the blade poised to cleave him, Su-ho quickly summoned flame chains.
The chains emerged wreathed in heat and whipped out. A normal monster's head would've come off, but not Deadlock's. The chains coiled around his neck and squeezed hard.
Clang—.
Deadlock dropped his sword and clawed at the chains with his one hand. But even for him, ripping off flame chains one-handed was impossible.
Su-ho's flame chains had reached Jin Seong-hyeok's level—not something to shake off easily.
Deadlock's eyes darted wildly as he moved, neck strangled. He knew exactly what he was doing. Flame chains prioritized protecting their master.
It happened in a blink. Deadlock appeared before Su-ho and raised his hand.
His razor-sharp nails plunged toward Su-ho's chest. The long, rigid claws sank into flesh.
"Urgh..."
As the skin parted, Deadlock thrust his hand in deep. Shattering ribs, it seized the frantically pumping heart.
Deadlock stared at Su-ho as if this were the end.
"Fakes who aren't the Creator must die."
With that, he clenched his fist around Su-ho's heart.
Crunch—.
Su-ho's heart burst helplessly in Deadlock's grasp.
"Guh."
With a final groan, Su-ho's upper body slumped. Deadlock leisurely withdrew his hand. Blood dripped from it, dyed red.
Thud.
Deadlock licked his lips, gazing down at Su-ho's limp, crashing body.
"Thought it'd be fun for once."
As Deadlock turned to leave, business concluded with the final act, heat bloomed behind him. He instinctively knew it wasn't ordinary heat.
His head turned slowly. And he faced it.
Cha Su-ho, emanating an immense aura from behind his back.