Chapter 61: Blood Phantom―2

'This must be dark energy.'

Kim Hyeon-jun felt the Paladin's spear vibrating faintly.

This reaction meant that divine power was purifying something.

It wasn't information listed in the item description, but perhaps it was because he had bought the spear through a hidden trait.

It felt as if the item itself was telling him.

'The uniquely unpleasant smell and the tingling in my nose also point to it.'

He had never encountered dark energy even before his regression.

Back then, he was just an ordinary private and had never faced a villain.

Nevertheless, he was certain it was dark energy because the known information and characteristics matched exactly.

When he turned his gaze, he saw the special mission unit officers and soldiers wearing gas masks.

The soldiers seemed tense, and the officers also appeared to be pondering.

'Well, I'm fine because I have the Paladin's spear, but they aren't.'

Kim Hyeon-jun told Private Son Geun-woo that he would handle the villain alone.

"No! That bastard is a level 6 villain! He uses dark energy! He's currently wanted! You should keep your distance too!"

The reply came back as if he had been waiting for it.

That was understandable.

The special mission unit officer didn't know what kind of spear this was.

"I'm confident. Please don't worry and step back."

Kim Hyeon-jun spoke again as he closed the distance with the villain.

After roughly estimating, he judged it was worth a try.

Moreover, dragging things out further wouldn't yield any answers.

Besides, in such a narrow passage, having multiple people charge in would be disadvantageous.

Especially against a villain who used dark energy.

"...Damn it. That disgusting light is divine power."

Meanwhile.

Yang Buk-cheon quickly recognized the identity of the spear in Kim Hyeon-jun's hand.

Hunters who wield dark energy inevitably react sensitively to divine power.

Their affinities were polar opposites.

"It seems you've prepared something from some lowly church, but that pathetic thing won't even come close!"

Yang Buk-cheon let out a roar and wildly released dark energy from both hands.

Whoosh!

Thick dark energy began to fill the space.

It was a quantity on a completely different level from the earlier warning.

"Everyone, get out! Get out now!"

Feeling his skin prickle, Private Son Geun-woo quickly gave orders to the soldiers.

If exposed to dark energy any longer, their skin could start rotting.

Unless they had equipment imbued with divine power, it was impossible in their current state, he judged.

"Retreat! Retreat!"

The special mission unit soldiers rushed out of the abandoned building.

Only Kim Hyeon-jun and Yang Buk-cheon remained inside the space.

"Heh heh. Even if it's equipment coated with divine power."

Yang Buk-cheon gave a twisted smile.

A smile as if something he had anticipated had come true.

It was because the dark energy was infiltrating Kim Hyeon-jun's skin.

"...What?"

But that smile was short-lived.

Yang Buk-cheon's face stiffened.

The dark energy that had been infiltrating Kim Hyeon-jun's body had vanished.

Even though he had released far more dark energy than before, it had been purified by the divine power.

"That's none of your business. Thanks for setting the stage?"

Kim Hyeon-jun didn't miss the moment the bastard hesitated.

He quickly closed the distance to within the spear's range and launched an attack.

Ting!

"Kgh!"

"For a mage, your reaction is fast."

He thought he had seized a good opportunity, but the attack didn't land properly.

He must have stabbed swiftly even in the darkness, but in that time, the bastard had wrapped a shield around his body.

Being a level 6 mage, his shield was quite sturdy.

'A few more stabs should break it?'

Kim Hyeon-jun still felt it was worth trying.

He felt a sensation in his hand.

A feeling as if a crack had formed in a hard shell.

[The effect of Gorgos's Essence is being applied.]

The essence of a boss monster with penetration ability also played its part.

"Don't get cocky!"

Perhaps his relaxed demeanor was irritating.

Enraged, Yang Buk-cheon compressed dark energy into small orbs.

At a glance, they resembled the basic magic mana orbs mages use, but their contents were entirely different.

'Dark energy bullets.'

Soon, dozens of the projectiles were fired at Kim Hyeon-jun.

Incomparably faster and more powerful than mana orbs.

If bullets were fired from a hand, this must be how it felt.

They were almost invisible.

Moreover, they contained dark energy, meaning without countermeasures against dark energy, one would suffer secondary damage as well.

If they were ordinary special mission unit soldiers, their bodies would have been riddled with holes, turned into sieves.

However, Kim Hyeon-jun dealt with them skillfully.

He infused the spear with mana, gripped it with both hands, and spun it like a fan.

Ting! Ping!

The dark energy bullets deflected by the rotating spear embedded themselves here and there in the abandoned building.

'Grh. It feels like my hands are going to shatter.'

Kim Hyeon-jun gritted his teeth and endured Yang Buk-cheon's attacks.

'Good thing I used the hidden trait training menu whenever I had time.'

He had practiced various stances and techniques just in case... but he never thought he'd be in a situation to use them.

'If the impact is this strong even with divine power wrapped around the spear...'

Without divine power, he would have been pierced.

It was a moment where he truly felt how powerful a level 6 villain was.

In the world of hunters, there was also the concept of affinity.

Divine power had such an overwhelming affinity advantage that it could devour dark energy.

Conversely, it was weak against the four basic elements.

Dark energy couldn't exert its full power against divine power, but boasted strength superior to the four basic elements.

In other words.

The one currently holding the affinity advantage was Kim Hyeon-jun.

Yet, blocking the villain's attacks wasn't easy.

'You crazy bastard! You're blocking all of this?'

Of course, that was only Kim Hyeon-jun's thought.

Yang Buk-cheon was already astonished.

He was using more power than anticipated.

And yet, he couldn't take down a single hunter army soldier.

'Persistent bastard!'

Enraged, Yang Buk-cheon gathered even the dark energy he had stockpiled.

Sssss.

The condensed dark energy was shaped into a cube.

'Dark Explosion.'

The moment he completed the skill, he hurled it with all his might at the hunter soldier.

It was a skill that caused massive damage by detonating the condensed dark energy.

Kwaaaang!

A moment later, a deafening roar accompanied the explosion of the black cube, and Kim Hyeon-jun was sent flying far away.

"Phew. He must be really dead now."

Yang Buk-cheon gasped for breath.

He had used most of the dark energy in his body, leaving him half-exhausted.

He needed to escape quickly during this opening.

"...What the hell are you?!"

Yang Buk-cheon's eyes widened as he tried to turn his back.

The hunter soldier, who should have been dead, was perfectly fine and alive.

"That one hurt a bit, you son of a bitch."

That wasn't an empty boast.

Even though he instantly wrapped his entire body in mana for protection, he still had to take damage.

To use a game analogy, about 30% of his HP must have vanished in one go.

It was only this much because he was holding a spear imbued with divine power; without it, he would have been seriously hurt.

"Grh!"

Seeing this, Yang Buk-cheon staggered, trying to flee.

Thud!

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Gyaaah!"

Of course, Kim Hyeon-jun had no intention of letting Yang Buk-cheon escape.

He thrust the spear into the bastard's leg.

Perhaps he didn't even have the energy to maintain his shield, as the spear easily pierced his skin.

"I surrender! I surrender!"

Just as Kim Hyeon-jun was about to thrust again without hesitation, Yang Buk-cheon raised both hands and surrendered.

"Yeah? I won't kill you."

If he hadn't surrendered, Kim Hyeon-jun would have really killed him.

That's how dangerous this villain was.

"But it's going to hurt enough to make you wish you were dead."

Of course, he had no intention of leaving it at that.

To prevent any foolishness, he decisively pierced through his limbs.

"Gyaaaaaah!"

Ignoring the bastard writhing in pain, he thoroughly searched his body in case there were any dangerous items.

"Look at this."

What he found was one small flask.

The purple liquid sloshing inside looked suspicious at first glance.

"Th-that's just a potion to replenish dark energy..."

"You should have said that when you surrendered. Why did you keep your mouth shut? Want another hit?"

"You didn't give me a chance to speak... Kgh!"

Yang Buk-cheon's body collapsed after being hit on the head with the spear shaft.

He had lost consciousness.

Only after confirming the situation was resolved did Kim Hyeon-jun let out a sigh of relief.

'Phew. This time was definitely not easy.'

For someone who told the special mission unit officer he was confident, he struggled quite a bit.

His stamina was drained, and he had used quite a bit of mana as well.

The bastard's attacks were quite threatening.

Looking over his body, he had quite a few wounds too.

'I thought I had gotten stronger so far. Still a long way to go.'

Even wielding a spear imbued with divine power, he had a tough time.

Kim Hyeon-jun vowed to train even harder once he returned to his unit after this operation.

Of course, he didn't know.

That Yang Buk-cheon was a vicious villain who had been wanted for years.

And the fact that in the past, he had defeated two level 6 officers from the special mission unit and successfully escaped.

*

Meanwhile.

Private Son Geun-woo, who had returned after receiving the radio message that the situation was over, couldn't help but be astonished.

He was so shocked his eyes were bulging as if they might pop out.

"...You subdued him?"

Seeing the scene before him, it was understandable.

Yang Buk-cheon was slumped against the wall.

There were large, seemingly pierced wounds all over his body, likely from Kim Hyeon-jun's spear.

"Corporal Kim Hyeon-jun. That's correct."

"Are you injured! If exposed to his dark energy, it's serious! If your skin rots, it might need to be cut out!"

Belatedly realizing the danger, Private Son Geun-woo turned on a military flashlight and examined Kim Hyeon-jun's body.

"...Phew. You seem okay for now. But make sure to get checked by the military doctor when we return."

"Understood."

Fortunately, there seemed to be only minor injuries, with no particular issues with his body.

"More importantly, how on earth did you do it?"

It was something he wouldn't normally say out loud.

But he couldn't help but ask.

After all, Yang Buk-cheon was the villain that even a private and a sergeant couldn't capture when they teamed up in the past.

A soldier subduing that bastard alone?

And a corporal from the regular hunter army at that?

It was unbelievable unless seen with one's own eyes.

"I trained hard as usual... and my weapon helped a lot."

"Your weapon? The spear?"

"Yes. My weapon is imbued with divine power."

Only after approaching and confirming the item's effect could he somewhat accept it.

'Villains who wield dark energy are extremely weak to divine power, but...'

Even so, facing Yang Buk-cheon alone would be difficult.

This could only be attributed to Kim Hyeon-jun's exceptional skill.

'There was a reason Lieutenant Park A-young was so interested in him.'

He had heard about it before, but thought it was exaggerated.

He just figured he got lucky catching a few villains.

Private Son Geun-woo had thought so.

But isn't he performing far better than the special mission unit soldiers?

If it weren't for Kim Hyeon-jun, it was certain they would have been overwhelmed by Yang Buk-cheon, causing major disruption to the operation.

"Anyway, good work. I feel sorry for burdening only you with this."

"No, it's fine."

Kim Hyeon-jun was truly fine.

Although an unexpectedly strong villain appeared, he managed to handle it well.

Moreover, thanks to Yang Buk-cheon setting the stage himself, he was able to achieve proper results.

"We'll talk after the operation is over. Everyone, check the area thoroughly and make sure the villains are securely restrained for transport!"

"Yes!"

The special mission unit soldiers meticulously searched the building, checking for any dangers.

They kept their gas masks on just in case.

"We surrender! We surrender!"

During the search, a few villains hiding in corners were discovered and immediately expressed their intent to surrender.

"This area seems cleared. Load the villains onto the transport vehicles, then proceed deeper into the building."

"Yes!"

Private Son Geun-woo raised his wrist to check the time.

'It ended over 20 minutes faster than expected.'

Despite the appearance of a level 6 villain, and a wanted one at that, they now had plenty of time to spare.

Corporal Kim Hyeon-jun.

It was thanks to his performance.

'The operation isn't over yet.'

Still, he had no intention of relaxing.

In villain eradication operations of this scale, variables always occurred.

Like the level 6 villain, Yang Buk-cheon, who had just appeared.

'Team 2's radio is quiet... but it's too quiet, which is actually worrying.'

In terms of operational risk, Team 2, going to rescue the hostages, was far more dangerous than Team 1.

Not only would rescuing the hostages be difficult, but they also had to face the villain who was essentially the leader of Blood Phantom.

That's why Lieutenant Park A-young was assigned to Team 1.

'No. There's no need to worry unnecessarily in advance.'

Private Son Geun-woo soon shook off his distracting thoughts.

He decided to focus first on finishing this area cleanly.