I turned back down the corridor with Jae-sik.
Kim Jeong-cheol and his group were sitting by Gallim Street.
They looked like a close-knit group of brothers, chatting warmly among themselves.
They were probably discussing when and how to kill me and Jae-sik.
Trash.
As soon as Kim Jeong-cheol spotted me, he waved his hand.
“Oh, you’re here. We’ve been waiting for you.”
If someone saw this, they’d think we were old friends meeting after a long time.
Waiting for what? What were they waiting for?
It was obvious they were blocking the path to prevent us from slipping away even at night.
I should have noticed when Sae-ssang said that guy’s gaze was displeasing.
“Ugh…”
As we got closer to Kim Jeong-cheol’s group, Jae-sik’s expression grew worse.
They were tense because I had told them that those guys were Hunter hunters.
I told them so they wouldn’t get killed without knowing anything, but seeing them this nervous made me regret it.
I felt like their cover would be blown any moment now.
“You look pretty unwell. Are you okay?”
“Not really. The end of the corridor leads to the morgue.”
“Ah… I see. Damn, I should have told you earlier…”
Kim Jeong-cheol looked worried and scratched his hand as he asked.
Jae-sik flinched when he saw that scratched hand aimed toward Jae-im.
Though it was a subtle movement, it was enough to sense something was off.
Why did he flinch like he was scared?
There was only one reason.
At that moment, Kim Jeong-cheol and I moved simultaneously.
I grabbed Jae-sik’s collar with my left hand and pulled him back, while he swung a longsword he had at his waist.
Swish.
I heard the sound of the longsword slicing through empty air.
“Chick.”
Jae-sik made a strange sound and clutched his neck.
No wonder—if I hadn’t pulled him back just then, his neck would’ve been cut.
Confirming his neck was unharmed, Jae-sik let out a relieved sigh.
The tip of Kim Jeong-cheol’s swung longsword missed me by inches.
He asked calmly, as if nothing had happened.
“How did you know?”
“Got lucky. I saw the corpse you guys stabbed from behind.”
“You didn’t seriously go into the morgue and come back, did you?”
Kim Jeong-cheol’s group widened their eyes in disbelief.
Kwon Oh-seok and Han Gi-hae frowned and even trembled.
Well, the place was so toxic and foul-smelling that no one would want to get close.
It was natural for them to be disgusted hearing someone went in and out of there.
Honestly, I wouldn’t have gone in either if Sae-ssang hadn’t told me to.
All thanks to that bastard.
“If we hadn’t known, we could’ve gone comfortably.”
They probably intended to kill Jae-sik and me while we were asleep tonight.
So, they said we could’ve “gone comfortably.”
It was pathetic how they made it sound like it was for our own good.
It was obvious they wanted an easy kill for themselves.
“There’s no personal grudge.”
“Do, Do-woon hyung…”
Jae-sik muttered my name nervously.
I understood.
Looking at how things were unfolding, Kim Jeong-cheol was trying to intimidate me by bullying Jae-sik.
If that happened, Jae-sik would have to fight Kwon Oh-seok and Han Gi-hae on his own.
Two Rank 0 Hunters, two tiers above an ordinary Hunter, against one Rank 6 Hunter?
Ridiculous.
I never expected that in the first place.
Because I was a decent human being who knew some shame.
“Don’t worry. I never intended to tell you.”
I said that while using the Mana of the World Sword.
Once, twice…
Blue mana gathered around the longsword in my hand.
The collected blue mana began to sheath the blade like a transparent scabbard.
Seeing this, Kwon Oh-seok and Han Gi-hae widened their eyes in surprise.
“A sword, a sword spirit!”
“No way! How can a Rank 0 Hunter have a sword spirit?”
In reality, it was just mana gathering; it wasn’t actually a sword spirit.
It was more like holding a torch with fire lit at the tip of a stick.
The blue mana gathered around the blade was nothing more than that.
But the form was so perfect that even Woo Yeon-ho, a Rank 4 Hunter, misunderstood it as a real sword spirit.
Those at .033 couldn’t possibly tell if it was a sword spirit or not.
“Focus on Kwon Oh-seok and Han Gi-hae.”
Kim Jeong-cheol gave the order with a serious expression, unlike before.
Without hesitation, Kwon Oh-seok and Han Gi-hae obeyed.
It was an order and response that made no sense.
Sword spirits were usually wielded by Rank 2 Hunters.
That’s why Kwon Oh-seok and Han Gi-hae were surprised.
To them, I must have looked like a Rank 4 Hunter or perhaps an 8th-level Hunter equivalent.
Yet Kim Jeong-cheol didn’t choose to despair and run away but to face me instead.
Even Kwon Oh-seok and Han Gi-hae didn’t resist and chose to follow the order immediately.
I could tell the reason through the sword Kim Jeong-cheol tightly held.
Dark and murky mana started wrapping around the sword.
Though smaller than the mana around my longsword, it was a genuine sword spirit, unlike mine.
How could a Rank 5 Hunter do that?
No, that was a stupid question.
What stood before me was a Hunter hunter.
Of course, he’d have faked his rank.
Kim Jeong-cheol, trembling as he drew his sword spirit, muttered something as if it was pitiful.
“Did you think only you could use a sword spirit?”
His words didn’t sit well with me, and I frowned.
At that moment, Kwon Oh-seok and Han Gi-hae charged at me simultaneously.
They moved exactly like Hunters of their rank should.
They launched a fierce attack, but I easily blocked and dodged.
The problem was every time I tried to counterattack, Kim Jeong-cheol shot me a warning glare, as if aiming for a one-hit kill.
Because of that, I couldn’t make big moves and had to keep my movements conservative.
… That’s what Kim Jeong-cheol’s group probably thought.
“Y-You’re so annoying!”
He shouted, swinging the red longsword in his left hand wildly.
It was like a frustrated fool who couldn’t contain his anger and made a silly mistake.
The longsword sliced through empty air without cutting either Kwon Oh-seok or Han Gi-hae.
Then,
“Stupid fool!”
Kim Jeong-cheol, as I predicted, aimed for an opening and charged.
The longsword wrapped in murky sword spirit streaked toward my left ribs.
“Die!”
As the longsword pierced my left ribs,
Clang—
I heard a harsh metallic sound.
It was like metal hitting metal.
They were caught off guard by the unexpected situation and looked visibly stunned.
“W-What?”
“So, who’s the stupid fool now?”
I smiled faintly and asked.
They were so flustered they didn’t even dare to look at me, only glancing toward the source of the sound.
Kim Jeong-cheol’s longsword couldn’t pierce my ribs that had transformed into wood-like skin.
Realizing what was protecting me, they screamed.
“No way! How can a shield stop a sword spirit!”
According to them, a regular shield couldn’t stop a sword spirit.
Sword spirits had the power to cut through even the scales of Gui Su-san and the wings of dragons.
That was why Hunter’s Cold Steel was a trademark.
But my skill wasn’t an ordinary shield.
[Wooden Skin of the World Tree (Rank S) – Transforms the skin into the wooden bark of the World Tree (Sae-ssang state) using the mana of the World Sword.]
It’s an ability that transforms the skin into wood bark.
Sword spirits were powerful, but not absolute.
Could the sword spirit of an 8th-level Hunter be the same as one from a Rank 0 Hunter?
Of course not.
I didn’t know Kim Jeong-cheol’s exact rank.
But would his sword spirit be strong enough to cut through the Wooden Skin of the World Tree?
No way.
According to Yoo Jae-yi, the former World Tree’s bark itself was a perfect weapon.
Even in the Sae-ssang state, it was the World Tree.
Naturally, Kim Jeong-cheol’s sword spirit was useless against it.
I didn’t bother explaining all that, so I kept it simple.
“You’re just too weak.”
“I, you bastard—”
Smack!
I struck the guy’s mouth repeatedly with the tip of my sword.
First, his lips burst.
Second, his front teeth broke.
Third, his jaw dislocated.
Even with a dislocated jaw, Kim Jeong-cheol didn’t stop swinging his longsword, trying to attack me.
I blocked his now powerless longsword with my wooden arms, gently massaging his broken arms and legs.
Crack, crack!
As his arms and legs broke one after another, Kim Jeong-cheol collapsed.
Yet he kept cursing at me.
“…It’s amazing you still have the strength to curse even after being like this.”
He had a terrible temper, no sense of shame.
“I was trying to go easy on you. You got hit because you talked too much.”
I said that as I tapped his broken body with warm hands in rhythm.
At the same time, I glanced at Kwon Oh-seok and Han Gi-hae.
They stood frozen in place as if their legs were frozen, watching their leader get beaten without being able to do anything.
“Next, it’s your turn. I’ll be waiting.”
“Ugh—”
Suddenly, Kim Jeong-cheol, pinned beneath me, screamed.
Looking down, I noticed the toxic energy still lingering around him.
He trembled but glared at me.
Is he crazy?
“Are you begging me to hit you more because you haven’t had enough yet?”
“Ugh, ugh ma!”
His jaw was broken, his front teeth shattered.
I couldn’t understand a word he was yelling.
No, he wasn’t trying to speak.
Kim Jeong-cheol was grinding his tongue harshly.
Was he humiliated?
He must know breaking his tongue won’t kill him.
I couldn’t understand why he was doing this.
“Heh heh… brr.”
There was one more strange thing.
Every time Kim Jeong-cheol bit his tongue, Kwon Oh-seok and Han Gi-hae whimpered.
Fear and terror gripped them, and they hugged themselves, trembling violently.
Were these guys collectively crazy?
Thinking that, I started to get up.
Crack, crack!
I heard bones breaking beneath my feet.
“Huh? What’s that?”
Looking down, I saw something unheard of happening.
Startled, I instinctively stepped back away from Kim Jeong-cheol.
The cracking sound was his bones breaking inside his body.
The sounds bounced and echoed inside him.
His skin paled, and black sharp spikes burst from his back.
It looked like—
“Aaah, a demon.”
Jae-sik muttered quietly.
As he said, Kim Jeong-cheol had transformed into a figure straight out of a fantasy game’s demon.
When the cracking stopped and the transformation ended, Kim Jeong-cheol slowly rose.
His broken body was fully healed by the warm touch, but now it was huge and bloated.
[The World Tree Sae-ssang has discovered the true identity of the filthy gaze!]
A message window popped up, describing Kim Jeong-cheol’s form.
True identity?
Does the Sae-ssang really know what that filthy thing is?
[The Sae-ssang says it is a “Demonic Slave of the Devil.”]
[It explains the Demonic Slave of the Devil as a human who sold their soul to the devil and became its servant.]
Demonic Slave of the Devil…?
“Oh, so you know us? So you’re not an ordinary Rank 0 Hunter.”
The Sae-ssang had just read that, yet it seemed impressed and muttered to itself.
Really a Demonic Slave of the Devil?
“I didn’t expect you to reveal your true identity here…”
Suddenly, Kim Jeong-cheol disappeared and reappeared right in front of me.
He moved so fast that I couldn’t track him with my eyes.
“Yeah.”
“With this power, I can definitely kill you!”
Shouting that, he swung his fist.
Bam!
The strong impact echoed far and wide.
The sound was so intense it felt like a bomb had exploded.
“Uhehe, that shield of yours won’t last! Hahaha!”
Kim Jeong-cheol laughed like a third-rate movie villain, his face twisted with malice.
When our eyes met, he shouted,
“…Y-You! How are you still alive?”
“Well, you didn’t hit my fist.”
“What? Then that sound just now…”
“What sound? That was the sound of your right arm breaking off.”
“Ah, kiiieeek!”
…Is this guy insane?