Chapter 26
Chapter 26
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: The Unbroken Canon
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The melody persisted, shifting octaves and tempos around a single relentless theme, backed by intricate variations in rhythm.
Blue trajectories slashed through the air in a ceaseless barrage, varying in speed and force, supported by perfectly timed follow-ups.
The clear difference between them? A canon in musical form delighted the ears...
"Gahk!"
My strikes, on the other hand, hurt like hell when they landed. Caught in the relentless flow of theme and counterpoint, Kim Ji-hyun's arm finally met my spear's tip. Paradox Flame erupted on the wound, blazing fiercely.
One hit wasn't the end. I could keep this canon going for a full week if needed. I had no intention of stopping until her thread of life snapped.
"Uwaaaaaah!"
Kim Ji-hyun's eyes rolled back as she unleashed a frenzy of attacks. The ground exploded, dirt and dust whipped through the air, and deafening booms echoed everywhere.
But.
"Taekwon Piercing—you'll never break this."
Quad Shadow Spear, and this canon technique too, were skills I'd honed and refined over thirty-five years.
If brute force mana blasts could shatter them, I'd have died back in that other world long ago.
No matter how Kim Ji-hyun tried to counter, I'd seen it all before. Naturally, I knew how to block every move.
"Guhk... haah..."
Black flames clung to every inch of Kim Ji-hyun's trembling body. Her muscle power had burned away almost entirely. She stayed upright only by forcibly bolstering the pitiful remnants with mana.
"Still clinging to some pride, huh."
She was pouring every last drop of mana into that single purpose. Her natural muscle power was all but gone.
Without mana, she'd have collapsed in her own filth, a corpse by now. Even the strength to pump her heart or draw breath had been incinerated.
She was substituting it all with mana, stubbornly refusing to die. Paradox Flame couldn't burn mana, after all.
But nothing changed. She was done for here. To finish her off, I thrust my spear at her head.
"?!"
Something slammed into my extended spear with unbelievable force. I released it on instinct. The spear flew off, embedding itself in the wall.
"I was aiming to shatter your wrist, but nice reflexes."
If I hadn't let go, that's exactly what would've happened. He wore a military uniform, hood pulled low over his face.
"Where's your gun? Resorting to a bow now?"
Military gear, but clutching a bow—and a small one, shorter than a standard longbow. Another striking detail: the quiver of child-sized arrows gripped alongside it. I couldn't help but smirk.
"Military fatigues with a Gukgung and baby arrows? Quite the concept."
One of those self-proclaimed Descendants of Dangun, apparently. And a big shot. My voice stayed calm, but cold sweat trickled down my spine.
The strongest hunter I'd met so far was Zanabi's Lee Se-eun, hands down. This bowman could take four or five of her and still have room for a steaming bowl of blood sausage soup.
"You've got guts. I'll give you that."
I chuckled at his words. Simple reason I could afford to: I'd been in spots like this before.
"You can't kill me, right? Probably because..."
I murmured, igniting Paradox Flame above my palm.
"...you need this."
That arrow hadn't aimed for my spear—it could've gone for my head, and I'd be dead. But it didn't.
They needed me. More precisely, my Paradox Flame.
"Extinguish the flames on Kim Ji-hyun. I won't say it twice."
I nodded obediently and snuffed out the Paradox Flame. He was stronger; no point resisting. I glanced at the slumped Kim Ji-hyun.
The hooded figure placed a hand on her body, using his mana to replace the muscle power sustaining her vital functions.
Kim Ji-hyun, who'd been scraping by with her own dwindling mana, finally relaxed her expression.
"Rest."
She passed out on the spot. Hostility radiated from the hooded man.
"Do you grasp the gravity of what you've done?"
"Turned a young woman into a wheelchair-bound vegetable, pumping blood with mana through a catheter."
That wasn't even the half of it. Her muscle power had been exposed to Paradox Flame for an excruciatingly long time.
Facial muscles included— she couldn't make expressions or even open her eyes properly.
Her jaw slack, drool pouring from her mouth; chewing food was out, and her esophagus was wrecked—she couldn't swallow liquids.
Respirator and artificial anus, probably. Keeping her alive would be a world of hurt.
"Might be better off dead."
I agreed with his assessment.
"Then why not let her die?"
He'd blocked her death, not me. And I hadn't assaulted some innocent bystander—I'd crippled an enemy trying to kill me.
No pity here. Mourning a bank robber shot by cops? The hooded man's aura turned lethal.
"Like you said, you're alive for a reason. But I can hack off your limbs, leave you half-crippled—as long as you breathe."
Everyone tried that line. I spat on the ground and flipped him off.
"Try it. The second you do, I'll ignite Paradox Flame in my heart and drop dead from a coronary."
If they wanted Paradox Flame, they had plans for it.
Despite turning their Taekwon Piercing underling—subordinate or ally?—into an irreversible wreck, they hadn't killed me. Just bared their teeth. That desperation for my flame ran deep.
"You just blurt out whatever pops into your head, huh."
"Situation allows it, doesn't it?"
I stepped closer and tapped my forehead with my thumb.
"Or go ahead and shoot."
Of course I wanted to live. After all the hell to crawl back here, dying? Unthinkable. But I refused a life groveling to this hooded nationalist nutjob.
"..."
He stared into my eyes for a long moment, then gathered the fallen Kim Ji-hyun.
"That look says you're serious. Can't do much about it now. But remember this."
He grabbed my collar.
"No one thought controlling an Erosion Core was possible. But I did it. You have too. I'll find a way to dismantle you and take what I need."
"Knock yourself out."
You think I'll sit idle? Let's see who moves faster—you prying Paradox Flame from me, or me growing strong enough to follow you anywhere.
He hurled me aside. The throw's force was uncanny—too much to fully absorb at my level. I tumbled across the ground, vomiting blood.
I scrambled up, scanning around, but the military bowman and Taekwon Piercing were gone.
"What a gentleman."
"Didn't strike me that way."
Han Sang-ah's cool assessment. But he had plenty of ways to pressure me. For instance...
"He could've skipped me and yanked out your guts for jump rope."
Common tactic. Can't touch me? Beat up someone close. And I'd turned his apparent subordinate into a life-ruined invalid. Justification aplenty.
"Ah."
She let out that exclamation, then continued nonchalantly.
"Jump ropes average over two meters; three gets tricky. Human captain's too short, lieutenant's too long for a rope."
"You've got issues in every direction."
Guts for jump rope, and she's critiquing the length?
"Maybe because he knows your background."
Plenty to mull over. Han Sang-ah wasn't the heir, but she was Gold Yang Group chaebol blood.
"Terrorists anyway—think they'll care?"
Her counter sounded plausible.
"Those Descendants of Dangun types and their deeds—would the Korean government hate that?"
She fell silent at my words. Thinking about it, they weren't entirely wrong. Korea holding global hegemony was a historic first.
America boomed off World War I, became the world's boss; even now, displaced by Korea, they're no pushover.
Japan? Korean War bailouts saved them from American smackdown and beggar status.
"Not wrong. Solid theory."
Korea was unmatched in stability, backed by top-tier hunters and infrastructure.
If they couldn't control Erosion Cores, fine—but if they could, dragging out the global crisis longer benefited Korea most.
"They might even have government backing."
In simple terms, those guys weren't mere terrorists. More like Francis Drake under Queen Elizabeth—privateers with tacit state approval, protection, and support.
"Wait—then we can't wipe out the Tsushima Erosion Core?"
One they'd successfully controlled. Destroying it meant not just beefing with the nationalists, but pissing off the government too.
"Who cares? We didn't know."
What'll they do? Ask why we trashed it, and they'd indirectly spill their ops to us. No way.
"I'm bad at lying."
"Figured."
Her deadpan face and rambling made lying irrelevant anyway.
"Gotta deal with that thing quick."
I staggered up, wiping blood from my mouth. Those island nation twerps across the sea were suffering—time to collect our pay.
"You okay going alone?"
Han Sang-ah's question got a curt reply.
"Step inside, and you're toast."
"..."
She plopped back down. Hurt by the truth, probably. What could I do?
I took a deep breath, staring at the pitch-black hole before me.
"Figured I'd suffer inside anyway."
Hardship before even entering. Life's unpredictable.
"No more monsters on this island with three thousand-plus hitting Japan. Rest up."
I finished my goodbye and prepared to dive into the Erosion Core.
Then Han Sang-ah spoke.
"Oh, Rank 2 Erosion Cores and up have gimmicks."
"Gimmicks?"