𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟖𝟔: 𝐎𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐧𝐭’𝐬 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧
“A bird entered the cage.”
A group of assassins was monitoring Hikari.
They confirmed that Hikari entered her house and moved slowly.
It was a quiet residential area on the outskirts, where two detached houses were adjacent.
The assassins had installed a magic tool that absorbed noise near the houses.
For the time being, even if a major disturbance occurred, there would be no reports.
“Seigen is definitely not here, right?”
“No. We confirmed him leaving, saying he had other business, and according to the one tailing him, he’s quite far away.”
“Okay, got it.”
Kunchai, the leader of the assassin group, adjusted his mask and checked his weapon.
If Seigen wasn’t around, he could easily kill such a rookie shaman even with his eyes closed.
Jiang Chen had warned him to be careful, but. . .
‘𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙤𝙨𝙨 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙤𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙡𝙮 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙚𝙙 𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙘𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 <𝙂𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝘾𝙤𝙧𝙥𝙨> 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙖𝙣𝙣𝙞𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙. 𝙏𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙧𝙜𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙯𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙙𝙞𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙙𝙚𝙘𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙘𝙖𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙜𝙪𝙮𝙨 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩.’
Kunchai had disliked the <Ghost Corps> from the beginning.
If it was someone as formidable as No. 0, that would be understandable.
But a psycho like No. 1 was just a blemish on the organization’s face.
“What should we do? Shall we infiltrate?”
“That woman should be getting complacent by now. Let’s just cut her throat and get out quickly.”
Kunchai signaled the assassins.
They instantly surrounded the house.
If the signal to infiltrate was given, everything would be over in 30 seconds.
“What are you dogs doing in front of someone’s house?”
Surprised, the assassins quickly turned their heads at the sudden voice.
And at that moment.
Whoosh! Thud!!
One assassin was struck by a fist and crumpled to the ground.
“It’s a house I bought with my own money for the master, and there are so many bugs crawling around.”
“You, wench. . .!”
“That’s Kang Yeo-hwa!”
Then, a surprise magic attack struck another assassin from behind.
Crackle!!
“What the hell is going on?! Why are S-Ranks out for a night stroll and causing trouble! Kill them!!”
The assassins drew their weapons and charged at Kang Yeo-hwa and Min Si-joon.
Skills were unleashed, and blades and fists clashed.
Kunchai lowered his mask and bit his lip until it bled.
Fury and annoyance welled up inside him as his plan fell apart.
“Damn it! Melt their limbs and feed them to the dogs!!”
A massive magic circle appeared on his body, and a damp, humid energy emanated from him.
Like purple mud dripping down, unknown substances bubbled out of Kunchai’s body and flowed onto the ground, corroding the floor hideously.
“Let’s see if you can touch my venom, Empress.”
Kunchai began to move with slimy steps.
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
𝐚𝕨𝘦𝐛𝐬𝐭𝘰𝘳𝙞ė̇𝐬.ᴄ𝕠𝔪
<Red Fox>, who was chasing Siwoo, lost its way in the forest.
No, it would be more accurate to say that the path disappeared.
“Shit, you bastard! Can’t you even follow properly?!”
Kiryu spewed out a crude insult at the subordinate who had been marking Siwoo from the closest distance.
“No, but it’s true. I confirmed he entered this path, but when I followed, there was a ‘Boulder Mountain’.”
“Then where did he go? Did he dig into the ground or something?!”
“But—”
“Useless idiot. Shut up and find him.”
The subordinate lowered his head, unable to respond to Kiryu’s fierce gaze.
Since the deal with Jiang Chen was made spontaneously, <Red Fox> had to start the operation without properly understanding Siwoo.
The only thing they knew was that he was a hunter working with Hayakawa Hikari.
He was not on the high-ranking hunter list in Korea, nor was he on the watchlist of the <HSIU Korean Branch>.
‘𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙨𝙪𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙘𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨. 𝙎𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙𝙣’𝙩 𝙅𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙜 𝘾𝙝𝙚𝙣’𝙨 𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙗𝙚 𝙖𝙗𝙡𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙘𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 𝙜𝙪𝙮 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙡𝙮?’
This feeling from Kiryu stemmed from his instincts.
Of course, dealing with an HSIU hunter was not as easy as it sounded.
One wrong move, and they could be marked by an international organization, so they had to be extremely careful.
‘𝙄 𝙘𝙤𝙣𝙛𝙞𝙧𝙢𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙜𝙝 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙤𝙡𝙞𝙘𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙃𝙖𝙮𝙖𝙠𝙖𝙬𝙖 𝙃𝙞𝙠𝙖𝙧𝙞 𝙘𝙖𝙢𝙚 𝙩𝙤 𝙆𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙖 𝙩𝙤 𝙞𝙣𝙫𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙜𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙧𝙪𝙜𝙨 𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙗𝙮 𝙅𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙜 𝘾𝙝𝙚𝙣. 𝙅𝙞𝙖𝙣𝙜 𝘾𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙧𝙮𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙢𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙆𝙤𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙣 𝙃𝙎𝙄𝙐 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙙𝙧𝙪𝙜 𝙙𝙚𝙖𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨.’
While grasping Siwoo’s existence, Kiryu also constantly pondered about him.
In a way, it seemed to only benefit Jiang Chen.
From <Yamaguchi-gumi>’s perspective. . . they had to eliminate Hikari, no matter how unpleasant it was.
Kiryu shook his head, trying to shake off his distracting thoughts.
Right now, he had to focus on the target.
After killing this guy, all he had to do was confirm that Jiang Chen had dealt with Hikari, and it would be a win-win situation.
“Find him quickly! What are you all doing, unable to find a mere hunter?!”
“Yes!!”
At Kiryu’s roar, the subordinates scattered into the forest.
It was best not to provoke Kiryu when he was raging like that.
“Aaaargh!!”
Then, someone’s scream echoed through the mountain.
“What?! Is it him?”
“Ughh. . .”
Followed by another groan.
Kiryu gathered his scattered subordinates and rushed toward the direction of the scream.
There, three massive stone bears were ripping apart the subordinates’ stomachs.
“What. . . Could this technique be. . .?”
“It’s the first time we meet, gentlemen.”
A shadowy figure approached slowly from afar.
The <Red Fox> members froze in shock at the sight.
An old man with furious, blazing eyes.
“Shit. . .”
The ‘Monster’ Hayakawa Seigen.
“You’ve had a hard time targeting my granddaughter.”
Seigen tapped his cane on the ground once.
A peculiar wave of magic and spiritual power swept across the entire ground, spreading like a vast ripple.
“T-There’s been a misunderstanding, Seigen! We were trailing a hunter named Min Siwoo to eliminate him!”
“Is that so?”
“Yes! Your granddaughter must have been close to the hunter Min Siwoo, causing you to mistake our presence for something else.”
“I see.”
Seigen turned his gaze sideways.
Kumo, who appeared like a butler, took out a smartphone from his pocket.
—So you’re suggesting we do an exchange murder.
—Yes. Even if there’s a suspicious culprit, if the evidence points elsewhere, it becomes useless.
The voices of Jiang Chen and Kiryu came through the speaker.
“Let’s see. Wasn’t the head of <Yamaguchi-gumi> Taoka Teruaki?”
Seigen muttered while stroking his beard.
Then, his gaze gradually turned cold, and he bared his teeth as he continued speaking.
“When I return to Japan, I’ll have to kill and bury all the trash. Let them know what happens when they mess with a bakemono.”
“D-Damn it!! Attack!!”
Someone’s desperate cry rang out, and <Red Fox> moved simultaneously.
At the same time, Seigen’s cane struck the ground again.
Kuuuuu—ng!
“This place will become your grave.”
“Shut up, old man!!”
One of the charging operatives swung his sword at Seigen’s neck.
In that instant.
Kwajijik!!
Long claws tore through the operative’s body, pinning him to the ground.
“Don’t you know to respect your elders, you bastards.”
The half-human, half-beast Volk bared his fangs as he spoke.
His ferocious appearance made people hesitate to attack recklessly, prompting Kiryu to shout.
“Out of the way, you useless fools! I’ll deal with this myself!!”
A massive surge of magic erupted from his body, unleashing geometric spell patterns that scattered sparks.
Soon, a ferocious red fox baring its fangs stood there.
“Grrrr! Witness the true power of <Red Fox>!”
“This will be interesting. A wolf and a fox.”
Seigen chuckled, and Kiryu’s body leaped forward with a roar.
🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷🔷
ᴀ𝔴ᴇʙ𝐬ᴛ𝕠𝐫𝐢𝚎s.𝐜ᴏṁ
Chui and Liu.
They were two but one.
A [Twin Form] ability to convert physical and magical damage received directly into energy and return it to the opponent.
Moreover, since they were sharing that energy, one could transfer the damage received to the other.
Hwang Jeong-gu wiped away his nosebleed.
Counter-type Awakeners were troublesome in this regard.
An ability to make indiscriminate attacks or render them unable to act.
It was easier to deal with those who simply fought back and forth.
“Look at that, they’re clearly thinking hard. Should we go first, Liu?”
“I can’t believe such a weak guy is a hunter affiliated with the government. Chinese police hunters aren’t like this, Chui.”
Crunch.
Then Siwoo, who had been buried in the rubble, brushed off the stones and stood up.
“You said earlier, ‘Are you going to whimper like this?’”
“Shut up.”
“Heh.”
Siwoo brushed off the dust.
“This idiot seems to want to attack again, Chui.”
“Indeed. Since he asked about Jiang Chen, he won’t be able to die peacefully, Liu.”
Then Pre, who had been leaning against Siwoo’s shoulder, opened his mouth as if annoyed.
【𝐖𝐡𝐲 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐮𝐠𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐤𝐞𝐞𝐩 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫’𝐬 𝐧𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐬?】
“You guys must be ugly recognized by the alien.”
Siwoo responded with a sneer.
【𝐂𝐡𝐮𝐢, 𝐋𝐢𝐮, 𝐒𝐢𝐰𝐨𝐨. 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠?】
“Shut up.”
“Shut up.”
“Shut up.”
The three answered simultaneously, scowling.
【𝐇𝐦𝐦~.】
Siwoo poked Pre’s eyes, displeased with his ‘look at that’ expression.
【𝐀𝐜𝐤!! 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐝𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐮𝐠𝐥𝐲 𝐚𝐬*𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞!】
“Quiet. It’s your fault for opening your eyes wrong.”
【𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐮𝐠𝐥𝐲, 𝐢𝐥𝐥-𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬*𝐡𝐨𝐥𝐞!】
If you weren’t my symbiotic partner, I’d have killed you.
“What’s that demon-like doll-like thing? Are you a summoner?”
Chui asked with a wary gaze.
“It’s just a decoration, so don’t mind it.”
Then he rushed towards Liu in a burst of speed.
In sync with that movement, Hwang Jeong-gu also charged at Chui, throwing two knives instead of metal balls to block the opponent’s movement.
“Ha! Such a petty rush!”
Liu circulated mana throughout his body and faced Siwoo’s attack.
Craa-ang! Aaack!
Fierce friction sounds clashed, and rock debris flew as sharp mana spread in all directions.
Even bystanders were distracted by their fierce battle.
“Shouldn’t we help them?”
“Wait. He’s a Hunter, so we’ll just provide support from the side. We’d only get in the way if we joined.”
Amid dozens of exchanges, Liu converted Siwoo’s attacks into energy and steadily accumulated it.
‘𝙄𝙛 𝙄 𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙖𝙩 𝙤𝙣𝙘𝙚, 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙜𝙪𝙮 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙗𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙛𝙤𝙧.’
The amount of energy accumulated seemed capable of not just killing but outright destroying his body.
“What are you so happy about?”
Seeing Liu’s smile, Siwoo whipped him with a side kick.
Baa-ack!
“Kugh!!”
This madman’s attacks were no joke.
As the damage Liu took increased, he transferred about a third of it to Chui.
“Isn’t this too much all of a sudden, Liu?”
“I can’t help it! The energy keeps converting, Chui!”
Chui was in a predicament as well.
Dealing with just Hwang Jeong-gu was fine, but the knives flew too quickly, leaving no opportunity to use the converted energy.
“Just let me hit you once!”
Chui tried to stab with his nails, but Hwang Jeong-gu moved his knives to strike the opponent’s eyes instead.
“Damn brat!”
Chui cursed.
‘𝙄𝙩’𝙨 𝙖𝙡𝙢𝙤𝙨𝙩 𝙛𝙪𝙡𝙡.’
Liu felt the accumulating energy and decided to unleash it all at once.
Then Siwoo’s attack hit Liu, and seizing that moment, Liu tried to blast Siwoo’s abdomen with a shockwave.
But then.
Crunch!
The organ that was supposed to release the built-up energy broke.
Siwoo shook Liu’s shattered hand, grinning mischievously like a villain.
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