The Late Game Healer Is Way Too Strong – Chapter 183

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟖𝟑: 𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐩 3

In places where magic is thick, the operation of magic power is much slower and more sluggish, and the efficiency of simple physical strengthening is also reduced.

Cargill Juan held his cup to his lips but remained motionless, his expression blank.

He thought he had misheard.

“What. . . what did you just say?”

“They’re called the Min Siwoo hitmen.”

“T-Th- this is crazy!”

Cargill Juan slammed his cup down with a coarse expletive.

“What the hell are they doing . . . Get rid of them before anyone sees them. . .!”

“Yes, sir. I’ll show them out.”

“No, wait a minute!”

Marco stopped him and stroked his mustache, deep in thought for a moment.

‘𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘢𝘮 𝘐 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴? 𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘥𝘪𝘦𝘥. . . 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘦𝘭𝘭, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘷𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘮𝘦? 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘰𝘯?’

They were the assassins Cargill Juan had personally commissioned, notorious killers known throughout the eastern United States.

But it was the worst-case scenario: despite the enormous sum of money he had spent, the assassination had failed.

Cargill Juan still couldn’t forget the look of contempt Crowel had given him over that plan.

‘𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘢𝘮𝘯, 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘵𝘤𝘩, 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘴𝘮𝘢𝘭𝘭-𝘧𝘳𝘺? 𝘏𝘦’𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘢 𝘭𝘢𝘱𝘥𝘰𝘨 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯!’

No one had ever dared to treat him like this, as he was the head of the HSIU’s former main faction.

Even the president of the country showed him respect, let alone some 4th Hierarchy underling, even if he might become the president someday!

He picked up his drink and drained it in one gulp.

The warmth of the alcohol spread through him, calming his nerves.

“What should we do with him, Mr. Juan?”

“Let’s wait and see. I don’t like it, but shouldn’t we ask the organization before deciding?”

“W-What? You mean that guy who looked down on you?”

“Did you feel that way too?”

“Of course I did. He was young, and not only did he speak casually to you, but he gave you orders like he was your superior. It was disrespectful.”

Cargill Juan pursed his lips at Marco’s words.

He hadn’t realized that even his own aide had felt that way.

He hesitated, holding the phone he had taken out to contact Crowel.

He was just as annoyed as Marco.

No, his anger was deeper and more intense than Marco’s feelings could ever be.

‘𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘪𝘭𝘭. . . 𝘐 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘵𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘸. . . 𝘚𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘐 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘭𝘬 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮?’

If there was a commotion later, there was no telling how Crowel would report it to 〈Pandemonium〉.

“But if we report it to them now, what will they say?”

“What?”

“Isn’t it obvious? They’ll blame us for handling the job like this. Is Mr. Juan lower in rank than that Crowel person?”

“W-What are you saying!! Technically, my rank is higher! I’m a sponsor of the organization, and he’s just their attack dog!”

“Then why don’t we just meet with them first, without telling him? Those hired killers won’t do anything reckless with me there.”

“Hmm. . . Allright, let’s do that.”

Marco led them straight to the study.

Two men and a woman entered the room, and Marco sat them down on the sofa.

All of them had their faces mostly covered with masks and hats.

“Even though you’re assassins, you should show Mr. Juan some respect. . . .”

As Marco began to point out their attire, Cargill Juan raised his hand to stop him.

“What do you want? How dare you come back here after what you did.”

“It’s good to see you looking healthy.”

“Oh, you’re not here to tell me some sweet nothings, are you? The assassination failed, and you cut off all contact. I naturally assumed you were all dead.”

He stroked his mustache and continued to berate the assassins.

“Do you have any idea how precarious my position has become because of your failure? That Min Siwoo guy is making a name for himself everywhere he goes, and that damned Edward is going from strength to strength. I’ve lost more than a few people who supported me!”

“We apologize.” 

One of the men said, bowing his head.

“Hmm, what was your name again?”

“Harry, Mr. Juan.”

“Yes, Harry. I don’t want to hear any of that honeyed crap. You’ve got the guts to come back here, but what are you going to do about it? Have you come to return my advance payment?”

“Mr. Juan, we did attempt the assassination. Although we were unsuccessful, we caused a fair amount of damage, so I’m afraid it will be difficult to return the advance payment.”

“A fair amount of damage? Are you talking about more damage than I have?”

Cargill Juan couldn’t immediately figure out what these men were up to.

But his instincts, honed from his rise from the bottom to his current position, were telling him something.

‘𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘣𝘺 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘶𝘵𝘩𝘴 𝘴𝘩𝘶𝘵, 𝘴𝘰 𝘐 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬.’

He trusted his gut and his instincts.

It would be bad for both of them if they kept harping on about something that was already in the past.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Juan. But I don’t think it’s fair to say that you were the only one who was wronged, considering that you withheld information when you made the request.”

“Withheld information. . . ?”

“If that Min Siwoo was such a powerful hunter, the price you offered was ridiculous to begin with.”

“. . . . . . .”

Cargill Juan stroked his mustache without replying.

The price of an assassination varies greatly depending on the target.

Just as there was a huge difference between killing a neighborhood gangster who had made eye contact with your wife and killing a rival candidate in the presidential election, there was also a huge difference between killing a rookie hunter and killing a skilled and experienced hunter.

In fact, when Cargill Juan had commissioned them, he had only described the target as ‘a rookie hunter in Korea.’

“Just look at what he’s doing now, and what the media is saying about him. Don’t you realize that he’s not an opponent you can take down for that price?”

“So you’re saying. . . that if you’d been paid more, it would have been possible?”

“The number of people and equipment we prepare depends on the price.”

Harry said, his eyes cold.

Cargill Juan had seen many people like this.

‘𝘈𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘦’𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘺𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘬𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘳.’

The kind of people who could shoot someone without batting an eye.

“. . . Are the people next to you your teammates?”

“Yes, sir. Let me introduce you.”

“My name is Aquila.”

“Hello. . . My name is Sharaki. . . .”

“Hmm.”

Cargill Juan looked into their eyes.

They seemed less skilled than Harry, but their eyes were not those of ordinary fighters.

They had the sharp instincts of those who had experienced countless battles.

“Marco. . . What do you think?”

Cargill Juan whispered to Marco, who was standing next to him as his bodyguard.

“Yes, sir. They seem to be skilled fighters. And they’re not lying.”

“Is that so?”

He nodded at Marco’s words.

“Then why did you break off contact and go into hiding?”

“We’re people who do this for a living. But if rumors spread that we failed to kill a hunter who doesn’t even have a ranking, we won’t be able to do our jobs. We had no choice but to wait for time to pass and hide.”

“And why have you come back to me?”

Harry leaned forward, his expression grim.

“I want to restore my honor.”

“Honor. . . ?”

“Mr. Juan, you’ve worked your way up from the bottom, so you know. When you lose your honor in this business, you’re nothing.”

Cargill Juan took a deep drag of his pipe.

It was true.

Besides, Crowel had speculated that the men had gone into hiding because they had failed their mission, so it was a fairly plausible story.

“This time, I will definitely kill Min Siwoo.”

“How much do you want?”

“Three times the previous amount.”

“That’s not a small sum. . . .”

“Mr. Juan, if you give me that money, you’ll be sure to take the HSIU presidency.”

“Heh heh. . . Ha ha ha.”

Cargill Juan laughed, pleased at the mention of the presidency.

Yes, it was time to stop relying on 〈Pandemonium〉.

From now on, he would control his own chess pieces.

Cargill Juan clasped Harry’s hand, a triumphant smile on his face.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

A foul odor wafted from the spilled blood.

It was not the blood of a human or an animal.

‘𝘈 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘳. . . 𝘐𝘴 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘳 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘯?’

Siwoo felt like he was going to vomit.

On top of that, it felt like this was not ‘pure blood,’ but something that had been altered.

“Ahahaha~ I can tell by your expression that you’ve noticed. That’s right, this blood was specially processed for the hunter Min Siwoo by a doctor from 〈Pandemonium〉.”

“For me. . . ?”

“Yes~ As a healer, right?”

Kaise let out a sinister laugh.

Siwoo could feel the murderous energy emanating from his narrow eyes.

It was the darkness of a being who was too sinister and deeply immersed in the darkness to be human.

“I don’t go around calling myself a healer, but I can do some healing.”

“Hahahaha~ Some healing, you say. Either way, once your healing and magic are sealed, you’ll be as good as crippled, won’t you?”

‘𝘚𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤?’

At that moment, the blood that had entered Siwoo’s wounds spread through his mana channels and dantian, spreading a curse.

Ugh!

Siwoo grimaced at the pain he felt all over his body.

“As you can see~ It seems to be taking effect. How does it feel to not be able to use your magic and healing?”

Kaise continued to taunt him, his expression smug.

The thrill of seeing his plan come together was as exhilarating as the moment he took an innocent life.

“Do you know about Black Heaven~? It’s a curse that I had made at great expense there. It’s designed to be applied to the target’s body, so I mixed it in with the troll’s blood beforehand.”

“It seems like a lot of effort to go through just to catch one hunter.”

“Hahahaha~ You’re so modest. How can you be just a hunter? You’ve killed two members of the 4th Hierarchy and two devils. You’re a big fish, Min Siwoo.”

Siwoo opened his dantian and drew on his mana.

But perhaps because it was a place where demonic energy was thick, his mana was jerky and didn’t flow properly, and more importantly. . . .

‘𝘐 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘪𝘤.’

It was impossible to use the mana he had drawn to restart his incantations.

Instead, an unbearable pain shot through his veins like shards of glass, tearing through Siwoo’s entire body.

“Ugh. . . !!”

Siwoo felt the bitter blood rising in his throat and spat it out onto the floor.

This time he tried to use his healing.

Mana surged through him, emitting a pale yellow light, but the wounds etched into his body and the wounds forming inside him did not heal.

“Kaise, your plan worked.”

“Of course it did~ Ms. Arumu. I told you. My plan would definitely succeed.”

“Congratulations, brother!”

Kaise grinned at Arumu and Laban’s praise.

“Hahahaha~ You’ve worked hard too, Mr. Laban. Now it’s my turn to step up.”

An enormous surge of demonic energy erupted from his body.

It was not the amount of demonic energy that an ordinary human, not a half-demon, could emit.

“Formally~ Let me introduce myself. I am Kaise, a pyromancer who has contracted with Solaso-nim, the 2nd Realm Demon King. From now on, I will defile you to your heart’s content as I remember those who have passed away. Get ready, Arumu.”

As he spoke, mana and demonic energy surged from Arumu’s body as well.

Siwoo glared at them, his eyes sharp.

【𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐩 𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐞, 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝𝐧’𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐮𝐧 𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲? 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞, 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐝.】

Just then, Pre poked his head out and asked Siwoo:

“What? Do you think I’m going to die?”

【𝐔𝐦.】

“. . . Aren’t you answering too quickly?”

【𝐒𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐝𝐨? 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐜 𝐨𝐫 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮’𝐫𝐞 𝐰𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬.】

“Can’t you use magic either?”

【𝐈 𝐚𝐦 𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐲𝐨𝐮. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚 𝐢𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞.】

“That curse is more powerful than I thought. But what can we do?”

Siwoo’s body shot forward.

Laban swung his axe in a desperate attempt to block his sudden movement.

But Siwoo was faster, and his knee soon met Laban’s face.

Thud!

“Ugh!”

As Laban fell backward, Siwoo spoke in a chilling voice.

“Can’t I just beat you to death without using magic?”

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