ππ‘ππ©πππ« πππ: π π’π«π πππ§ππ₯ππ«
Pagi-euhhh-ak!!
Before Ryu Ji-hwan could prepare, Siwoo’s back kick to his jaw struck hard.
Ryu Ji-hwan fell, breaking the stage and flowerpots next to him.
“Ack! You son of a b*tch!! Do you know who I am?!”
“A criminal son of a b*tch Guild Leader.”
“You’re really crazy. . . HSIU daring to pick a fight with a higher Guild Leader without any evidence?!”
“Why would I not have evidence?”
“What?!”
“The blood of the victim is the evidence.”
Hundreds of geometric shapes, symbols, and letters appeared on the palm of Siwoo’s hand, glowing a deep black.
[Song of Iron : Iron Fist]
A solid iron fist shot out of the magic circle that had been instantly created like a cannon.
Ryu Ji-hwan bit his molars hard enough to draw blood.
[Ifrit : Shield of Incineration]
A huge flame burned fiercely.
The fist of Iron Fist, which had charged into the searing shield, melted away with a loud splash, instantly turning into steam.
“You. . . damn it, this is the end of what I’ll tolerate because you’re HSIU. How long do you think Baek Geon-ho will back you up?”
“I don’t know. I’m a high-ranking officer of HSIU headquarters.”
Siwoo took out the notebook he had put in his inner pocket and shook it, showing his ID card.
“If I fail to get anything out of you, the headquarters will back me up. That’s why I decided to give it my all.”
Ryu Ji-hwan shook his head as he listened to his story and began to laugh, shrugging his shoulders.
“Hahaha. . . this son of a b*tch. You’ve been annoying me a lot lately.”
Until now, his voice had been calm yet sharp, but now it sounded like he had given up on everything.
Ryu Ji-hwan took out a mask from his pocket and put it on his face.
A clown mask with bloodstains.
The atmosphere changed in an instant.
Siwoo wondered if this was his ‘true face’.
“It suits you. Don’t you think it’s better than your real face?”
“. . . Heh heh heh. As expected, a clown should look like this.”
Ryu Ji-hwan, who had become McJester again, gave Siwoo a creepy smile.
A faint murderous intent seemed to be emanating from the corners of his mouth, which were torn to his ears.
“So who did you kill?”
“Sorry, but a clown only knows how to lie.”
Ryu Ji-hwan snapped his fingers.
A complex ritual appeared beneath his feet, glowing red, and magic power surged through the circuit like wildfire.
[Ifrit : Fangs of the Fire Serpent]
“Heh heh heh. Die.”
Leaving behind the clown’s vulgar laughter, a huge serpent made of flames charged towards Siwoo.
Siwoo dodged the attack by leaping into the air and then kicked a chair towards him.
Bang!!
The stone chair flew straight at the Ifrit’s serpent.
Clatter, clatter!!
The stone that had pierced the serpent’s mouth from the start spun like a pinwheel, scattering flames in all directions.
At that moment, Ryu Ji-hwan swallowed the Awakener drug that he had kept under his tongue.
An endless power surged through his body like a wave.
Ryu Ji-hwan’s new form appeared behind Siwoo at an incredible speed.
He aimed at Siwoo’s back like a panther, his hands full of vast red magic power.
[Ifrit : Spirit Possession]
The magic power in his hands spread evenly throughout his body in an instant, and Ryu Ji-hwan’s form became mixed with the blazing flames.
As if the flames had taken on a human form, he became one with the fire.
This whole process happened in a split second.
‘ππ π©π€π€π π©ππ ππ§πͺπ.’
Siwoo had been waiting for this moment.
How much of a monster would an S-Rank Hunter become when they awakened?
Siwoo wondered if he would stop at a level he could handle, or if he would go into a crazy awakening that would surpass Choi Dae-soo.
Ryu Ji-hwan’s fist headed towards Siwoo’s head.
Boββom!!
A loud bang and blazing flames spread fiercely, as if they were going to devour Siwoo.
“Ack!”
The flames that spread across his face choked him and ate away at his mana shield.
Siwoo bit his lip and hurriedly opened his dantian.
The flow of magic power overflowed as if it would burst the mana veins.
His muscles screamed and his blood vessels swelled.
He was enjoying this battle.
Clang!
Based on Siwoo’s clasped hands, a bright blue ritual was implemented, and a moist magic circle bloomed in the sea of fire.
[Breath of Water : One Hundred Silken Carp]
One hundred silken carp in the form of blue water swam up and devoured the flames.
Ryu Ji-hwan clapped his hands and laughed at the sight.
“Heh heh heh. You know a lot of strange techniques. You said you belong to HSIU headquarters, so I guess that’s not an empty boast.”
Siwoo washed his face with water and shook his head.
“It’s definitely different when you take drugs.”
“You’re quick-witted. Ha. . . You’ll never know this feeling in your whole life. It’s like the heightened senses are showing me a new world.”
“I’m not interested in that. But I am interested in drug addicts who fight while taking drugs.”
“You’re quite foul-mouthed.”
Ryu Ji-hwan let out a deep sigh.
How had he, who was ranked 5th in the Korean Hunter rankings, come to be treated like this?
He had been a king in the Incheon slums and a super genius rookie in the Hunter world.
But now he was a fugitive, listening to nonsense from some guy he didn’t even know.
“Speaking of you. . . I can’t find much information about you.”
Ryu Ji-hwan had tried to gather information about Siwoo through his secretary, Yeo Jin-sik.
However, even when he contacted the famous ‘Hacker Hunter’, he was told that he could not find any information about Siwoo other than what was publicly available.
“I was curious about what kind of being you were. It was like you had just fallen into this world from somewhere else.”
“So?”
Siwoo asked with a look that said, ‘What do you want me to do about it?’
“But I found one strange thing.”
“What?”
“Heh heh heh.”
“Why are you laughing so creepily?”
Ryu Ji-hwan touched the McJester mask and continued speaking in a voice that scraped like metal.
“What is your true identity, and why are you looking for Jeong Min-jun?”
In an instant, Siwoo’s eyes flashed with murderous intent.
“How do you, a drug addict, know that name?”
“Because I’m the owner of <Narak>, where nothing is unknown.”
“Stop talking nonsense and tell me straight. Or do you need to cough up blood here to answer?”
Siwoo’s murderous intent was not fake.
The intense vibration of his spirit was a reaction that even Ryu Ji-hwan had not expected.
However, the Awakener drug suppressed even his anxiety and worries, injecting intense dopamine into his brain.
“Heh heh heh. Do you want to hear the truth from a clown? Then you, the suspicious one, should talk first, right?”
As Ryu Ji-hwan’s nagging continued, Siwoo gritted his teeth and replied.
“He’s my disciple, you son of a b*tch.”
“. . . What?”
“I said he’s my disciple.”
Ryu Ji-hwan stood there for a moment as if he had lost his mind.
Then he slowly began to raise his magic power.
“That’s strange. I thought his teacher was dead. Are you talking nonsense?”
“Why would I lie to someone like you? You should tell me how you know Jeong Min-jun.”
“Heh heh. Don’t be so angry. From what I heard. . . that guy came to <Narak> to gather information.”
“What information?”
Ryu Ji-hwan replied to Siwoo’s question with a laugh.
“About γPandemoniumγ.”
Siwoo’s thoughts stopped for a moment.
“If you know that, then you should die too.”
Ryu Ji-hwan’s fist shot towards Siwoo.
His fierce and fast fist was blocked by Siwoo’s guard.
However, that attack should not have been blocked.
Bang!!
With a burst of flames, Siwoo’s arm, which had blocked the fist, turned bright red.
“Heh heh heh heh! I’ll cook you well, so wait for me!”
Ryu Ji-hwan swung his fists in succession.
The blazing flames of Ifrit burned the oxygen and bulged his body, and the flames that burned him one after another devoured Siwoo’s body horribly.
Arghhh!! Groan!! Aaaarghhh!!
Ryu Ji-hwan continued his attacks as if he was releasing all the stress he had been under.
A strange laughter escaped from his mouth like a clown laughing so hard he was tearing apart.
This was a pitch-black day to say goodbye to everything he had built up.
As if it were the final blow, an uppercut shot towards Siwoo’s jaw.
He must have already fainted from the pain of being covered in flames or gone into shock, but he would finish him off properly.
Thud!
However, Ryu Ji-hwan’s attack was blocked by the opponent’s arms, which were crossed in an X shape.
Beyond the blazing flames, Siwoo’s blazing eyes met Ryu Ji-hwan’s eyes through the mask.
“I’m not good at using flame-type magic.”
Siwoo murmured like a soft sigh.
“Becauseβ”
At his feet, along with a crimson magic circle,
“I can’t control it.”
Blazing flames rose up, burning the surroundings and lifting his body.
π·π·π·π·π·π·
“Block it!!!”
Do Kyung-hoo’s scream-like command cut across the battlefield.
[Ghost’s Eye : Mountain Splitter]
Thick sword strikes bloomed everywhere, unleashing their powerful force towards the front.
Do Kyung-hoo’s attack, said to cut down mountains, was drawn horizontally, cleanly cutting down the dozen or so monsters that were approaching.
“Hunter Chu Ha-min!! Don’t go too deep!”
“Yes, sir!”
Chu Ha-min replied to Kang Yeo-hwa’s advice.
Kang Yeo-hwa killed nearby enemies with hand-to-hand combat and shot enemies that could be a threat from afar with her bow using [Warrior of the Wind].
Chu Ha-min, befitting of a raid leader, fought at the forefront, shaking up the monsters’ formation and cooperating with his allies.
[Hurricane : Wind Blade]
Hundreds of arrows flew like the wind and pierced the bodies of the monsters.
Grooooowl!!
Roar!!
The monsters gritted their teeth and bared their fangs at the arrows that had pierced them.
However, the attack was not over.
“Scatter.”
Min Si-joon’s resolute voice became the trigger, and
Bang!!
The arrows that had been pierced shattered into small pieces, stabbing through the monsters’ bodies and scattering all over them.
A horrible scream, different from before, filled the battlefield.
The other Hunters’ attacks were relentless.
They activated their various skills, and buffs and debuffs flashed here and there without ceasing.
Rumble! Rumble!
At that moment, a huge monster that seemed to be three or four times the size of the other monsters appeared.
βRoar!!
The Hunters gulped as they looked at the bizarre creature.
It wasn’t just big; it was so big it looked like a small building.
“It’s going to take a lot of magic.”
Min Si-joon bit his lip.
βRoar!!
The monster picked up a boulder the size of a house next to it.
It must have been heavy for even the monster, because it shook its body and lifted it over its head with difficulty.
No matter where on the battlefield it was thrown, the damage would be unspeakable.
‘πΏππ’π£ ππ©! π π¬ππ¨π π ππ€πͺπ‘π ππͺπ© π©ππ π§π€ππ . . . πππ€πͺπ‘π π ππͺπ© π€ππ ππ©π¨ ππ§π’ ππ£π¨π©πππ?’
Do Kyung-hoo tried to devise a way as he ran towards the monster.
However, it was too late, and the monster’s trembling arm was slowly moving.
That was when.
“Drop your handββ!!”
A clear and bright voice rang out.
βRoar?!
The monster, as if mesmerized, opened its hand and dropped the boulder as it was, and
Bam!!
Its head burst from the weight of the boulder, and it died instantly.
“Haha. . . Hahaha! That’s a welcome voice!”
Do Kyung-hoo laughed and cut down the monsters nearby.
Gi Il-yeon was running over from a distance, her sharp eyes gleaming.
π·π·π·π·π·π·
“Ugh. . . Cough. . .”
Siwoo lifted Ryu Ji-hwan by the nape of his neck.
The great temple was now nothing more than ruins.
It was after the flames of hell had swept through and burned everything black.
Ryu Ji-hwan was bleeding from his mouth.
His mask was half burned away, and his right arm was horribly cut off, spurting blood.
Siwoo had torn it off when he tried to use his magic power.
“Ha. . . That’s why I didn’t want to use flame magic.”
Siwoo muttered with a cleanly regenerated face.
“You. . . Cough! You’re this strong. . . .”
“That’s why I told you. Are you going to talk while coughing up blood?”
“Heh. . . Heh. Sh*t. . . Cough! Sh*t, f*ck!”
Ryu Ji-hwan spat out curses in his fading consciousness.
“Now, what do I do with you? Should I just kill you?”
Siwoo scratched his head, lost in thought.
“E-Excuse me.”
At that moment, an unfamiliar voice came from behind.
Siwoo looked back with sharp eyes.
Inside a small portal, a green-haired man poked his head out and smiled.