The Late Game Healer Is Way Too Strong – Chapter 216

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟏𝟔: 𝐈𝐟 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐓𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐎𝐟𝐟 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 3

Roarrrrrrr!!

Dust and sand flew into the air as the giant monster flipped over.

Its hard, sharp shell faced the ground, revealing its relatively soft underbelly.

The monster’s snake-like tail and dragon-like head roared, apparently enraged by the sudden reversal.

Han Tae-chi mustered his magical energy again and deployed his spell.

This time, he used the Black Tortoise as his reference point instead of himself, casting his skill.

[ Othello: Attraction ]

A barrage of massive boulders, pulled by a fearsome gravitational force, rushed towards the Black Tortoise.

Kwaga gagagaga gang!!

The boulders did not pierce the hard underbelly, but the impact was not without its effect, as the Black Tortoise let out a pained cry.

“You. . .?”

Red Ear called out to him with a surprised look.

He touched his slightly wrinkled forehead and recalled the boulders that had been flying towards him.

“It just turned out this way.”

Han Tae-chi gave an awkward smile.

He had not expected to reawaken his ability at a time like this either.

He remembered thinking that he had to stop Red Ear from sacrificing himself for him.

His memory was a little hazy after that.

However. . .

‘𝘔𝘺 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘦𝘳.’

The guilt that had been weighing him down from all sides had vanished, and all responsibility now lay with the one who had caused the trouble.

A sense of relief and liberation washed over him as he was freed from what had been holding him back unnecessarily.

‘I shouldn’t think that I won’t be able to protect it, I should just grow my ability to the point where I can protect it.’

Han Tae-chi felt as if he had broken down the walls surrounding his heart and was looking at the sun for the first time in a long time.

He opened the item box and took out all the offensive items.

In the past, he would not have been able to handle such magical energy and would have had to ask someone else for help.

But now, he felt like he could handle it all on his own.

Han Tae-chi poured his magical energy into the items.

The LED lights on the items flickered as they absorbed more than a certain amount of magical energy.

He snapped his fingers.

Using telekinesis, he lifted the items high into the air and then used gravity to drop them on the Black Tortoise’s underbelly.

Pa-chick.

Kwa━━━ng!!

An enormous roar erupted, and a shockwave engulfed the surroundings.

The scale of the explosion was not small, as each item possessed powerful destructive force.

Han Tae-chi raised his palm and cast his spell.

A tremendous gravitational force acted around the explosion, pulling the erupting force inward.

Kuku-kuku-ku-!!

The compressed forces exploded again, and the heat that could not be released outside boiled up again from within.

What sounded like the Black Tortoise’s scream could be heard.

Well, not really.

Its scream must have been swallowed up by the enormous gravitational force and could not escape.

“Huh. . .”

Red Ear let out a strange sigh that was neither admiration nor surprise.

The Black Tortoise, which had the hardest body among the spirits, had been reduced to ashes, not to mention rags.

Even its shell, which seemed impervious to any shock, had vanished without a trace.

Red Ear shook his head as if he had lost his words.

Of course, this explosive force itself was the result of a chain reaction of the items, so it would be difficult to say that it was solely Han Tae-chi’s power.

However, it was Han Tae-chi’s ability that had caught hold of the force trying to escape and held it down to the end.

Red Ear turned his head away from the vanished Black Tortoise and looked at Han Tae-chi.

He was sitting on the ground, breathing hard, as if he had used up all his magical energy.

“Now you look a little more like an S-rank. Thanks for saving me.”

Red Ear smiled faintly, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Han Tae-chi hesitated for a moment, unsure of what expression to make, and then smiled faintly, following Red Ear’s lead.

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

It wasn’t long after that the news that a prison had been raided came.

The highest-ranking Awakener prison in South Korea.

Choi Dae-soo was shocked to hear that about a thousand criminals imprisoned there had escaped.

He had known that they would do something else by turning their attention elsewhere, but he had never imagined that they would break into a prison like they had in America.

“Damn. . . this is a serious situation.”

The moment it was reported by the media, anxiety would spread, and the public would fall into chaos.

But it was not something that could be quietly ignored.

Choi Dae-soo ordered that an emergency order be sent to all police forces, the Hunter Association, HSIU, and all guilds, including Heptagram.

Based on the criminals’ data in the Ministry of Justice database, a list of prisoners who had been imprisoned in Pyeongtaek Prison was sent to each organization, and a full-scale search was immediately launched by the military, police, and guilds.

“Who broke into the prison?”

Siwoo asked, looking at Choi Dae-soo, who had given the order.

“I guess they haven’t confirmed that yet.”

Choi Dae-soo let out a long sigh of smoke, as if it were a sigh.

His furrowed brow revealed his irritation and anxiety.

“But is this all the S-rank Hunters we have in our country?”

Siwoo looked around at the group that had joined them, frowning as if he was not impressed.

Han Tae-chi, Min Si-joon, Choi Sung-il, Lee Ye-ji.

And Chu Ha-min and Hwang Jeong-gu, who were almost at the S-rank level.

“Didn’t the rest of them go to America, President?”

“Are there no more useful ones?”

When Siwoo asked in response to Han Tae-chi’s answer, he tilted his head for a moment before continuing.

“Hunter Chae Woo-dam was supposed to be here. . . but I haven’t seen him at all this time.”

The other Hunters realized then that Chae Woo-dam had not shown his face for a long time.

“Do you think something happened to him?”

“No way. He’s stronger than us. He’s a Hunter who can be compared to Hunter Do Kyung-hoo, so he won’t be defeated so easily.”

Lee Ye-ji shook her head in denial at Choi Sung-il’s bewildered question.

“It’s strange though. He’s looked out of it lately, but for him to be so quiet in a situation like this. . .”

Choi Dae-soo stroked his chin and told his secretary to send someone to the Hunter Association urgently.

Everyone knew that Chae Woo-dam was an eccentric.

He had no social skills or conversation skills, and his impression was not particularly bright.

Nevertheless, the reason he had been able to become the head of the Hunter Association was because of his great compassion for others.

His face was full of scars and looked scary, but he was so kind and helpful that his Hunter alias was ‘Buddha’, and he was entrusted with the most trusted organization.

Chae Woo-dam had started to deteriorate after the death of Hunter Kim Eun-ju.

He had been told several times that he could step down if it was difficult for him, but Chae Woo-dam had refused Choi Dae-soo’s offer.

He said that he still had a role to play.

A few minutes later, a phone call came with an urgent voice.

━ Your Excellency! The people at the Hunter Association headquarters. . . they’re all dead!

Choi Dae-soo covered his forehead with his hand like a pot lid.

His head was pounding, and a sigh escaped his lips.

“Damn it, nothing’s going right. Is Hunter Chae Woo-dam’s body there?”

━ W-Wait a minute. The staff went in and checked each of the bodies’ faces. . . but they said there’s no one who looks like Hunter Chae Woo-dam.

“Is that so? That’s one thing to be thankful for. What’s the cause of death for those people at the headquarters? Were they killed by monsters? Or by magic?”

━ That is. . . It looks like they were pierced by something. . .

Choi Dae-soo’s secretary seemed to be lost in thought for a moment at his question, then quickly continued, sucking in a breath.

━ Your Excellency, this technique is. . . Hunter Chae Woo-dam’s thorn skill.

Awakened people with the Manipulation System skills who could control living things were not very common worldwide.

If that characteristic remained, it would definitely be Chae Woo-dam.

“Are you certain?”

However, Choi Dae-soo wanted to make sure to the end.

He believed that no matter how broken his mind was, he would not have done something so reckless as to kill people like this.

━ I’m sure. There are fragments of broken thorn stems scattered around, and there are traces of thorns piercing the bodies evenly.

“. . .Good work. Call HSIU and have them cooperate with the investigation.”

Choi Dae-soo hung up the phone and looked up at the distant sky.

“There’s no one to trust in the world.”

He took a deep drag of his bitter cigarette and spoke softly to Siwoo, who was standing next to him.

“Do you trust people?”

“What are you talking about? Trust is essential for politics. Instead, you trust not in the person’s heart, but in the person’s ability.”

“So you trusted Chae Woo-dam’s ability?”

“. . .He’s a better guy than you think. Enough to earn the alias ‘Buddha’, which you’ll never get.”

“That’s amazing.”

Siwoo recalled Chae Woo-dam’s face, which had seemed blunt and secretive, and tried to compare it to his alias.

“I wonder what he’s trying to gain by doing all this.”

What on earth was his plan?

Siwoo crossed his arms and listened to the words coming from all around him with one ear and let them go out the other.

Where on earth had Chae Woo-dam intervened in this incident from start to finish?

‘𝘋𝘪𝘢𝘬𝘢𝘯 𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘗𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘩𝘶𝘭 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯. 𝘐𝘵 𝘮𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘦 𝘞𝘰𝘰-𝘥𝘢𝘮 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘗𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘩𝘶𝘭 𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘗𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘭𝘴𝘩𝘶𝘭’𝘴 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘥. 𝘚𝘰 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘪𝘥 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘦 𝘞𝘰𝘰-𝘥𝘢𝘮 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 〈𝘗𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘪𝘶𝘮〉?’

It would not make sense for him to have no connection to 〈Pandemonium〉.

He wouldn’t have killed the members of the Hunter’s Association just because the Guardians had been revived.

‘𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘦 𝘞𝘰𝘰-𝘥𝘢𝘮 𝘸𝘢𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘊𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘭’𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘦 𝘞𝘰𝘰-𝘥𝘢𝘮 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘫𝘰𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘨𝘰.’

Siwoo guessed that the point at which they made contact would have been after Kim Eun-ju’s death.

Usually, 〈Pandemonium〉 made deals with others by offering money, power, or force.

But would Chae Woo-dam need those things?

The woman he loved had died, and the ones who had caused it offered him a deal.

Normally, he would have torn them to pieces, but Chae Woo-dam must have accepted the deal.

In that case, the condition they would have offered would be. . .

Siwoo realized something and asked the group a question.

“Where is the Hunter National Cemetery?”

🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷

In the middle of a cemetery where rain was falling heavily.

A man was kneeling in front of a tombstone, staring at it silently.

〈The Grave of the Late Hunter Kim Eun-ju〉.

Chae Woo-dam gently brushed away the tombstone that was on the ground.

With what seemed to be rainwater or tears.

The man exhaled coldly, his face expressionless as the moisture continued to fall.

He used to cry so much that he would faint whenever he came here.

Fortunately, that was not the case today.

“Let’s get started now.”

Chae Woo-dam murmured to the empty space around him.

At that moment, a black shadow in the corner of the cemetery rumbled and took shape.

“Pu-pull pu-pull. You’re fi-fi-fi-finally re-re-re-ready, I se-se-see. I’ve ha-ha-had a go-go-good ex-ex-pe-pe-pe-rience tha-tha-thanks to you.”

A crackling voice like a broken radio.

Penelshul brought a square box and placed it next to Chae Woo-dam.

“Is this. . . that?”

“Fe-fe-feel free to o-o-o-pen it.”

Chae Woo-dam opened the lid of the box very carefully.

His hands began to tremble.

“Ah. . . Ah. . . Ah. . .!!”

Chae Woo-dam let out a short scream and sob, and clenched his hands so tightly that blood came out of his palms.

Her heart.

“No-no-now you ca-ca-can fi-fi-fi-nally re-re-re-turn her to yo-yo-your em-em-em-brace.”

Kwa-dad-deuk.

The moment Penelshul gestured, the entire grave was lifted up and Kim Eun-ju’s coffin slowly rose.

Thud.

The coffin lid opened, revealing Kim Eun-ju’s body.

“Pu-pu-pu-pull. Pu-pu-put her he-he-heart in-in-in the ho-ho-hole in he-he-her che-che-chest.”

Penelshul’s voice echoed in his ear.

Ku-ru-ru-rung.

Thunder and lightning struck.

Torrential rain poured down.

Chae Woo-dam approached her body without hesitation.

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