My blood wasn't just boiling, it felt like it was catching fire. Unidentified bastards had attacked Dr. Jin's home. Seeing Dr. Jin struggling as if he was about to draw his last breath made my mind go completely blank.
“Hello? Little boy.”
The half-naked woman greeted me, but I just raised my Ether to its maximum. I drew all the Ether I could to my legs and moved in front of Dr. Jin with Poison Step at maximum speed.
Zip.
Then, I forcefully struck the hand that was gripping Dr. Jin's throat.
Thwack!
“Ugh…!!”
The confident expression on his face distorted for a moment. He grimaced and pulled back his arm.
“Gasp… Cough!!”
“Dr. Jin…”
He could barely breathe again, but his face was pale from lack of oxygen. Using such force on someone who wasn't even a Hunter. The anger inside me was growing like a snowball.
Shhh.
Extending one arm to heal Dr. Jin, I turned my gaze to the two intruders.
“Who are you.”
“Oh my~ You're even more handsome in person, aren't you?”
The woman with short red hair let out a laugh, swaying her seductive hips.
“I asked who you are.”
“I'll tell you if you're still alive in five minutes.”
What a load of crap. I checked the short-haired woman's information through the V1. Oh Jin-ah, an S-rank Esper who was dishonorably discharged.
No specific abilities were identified, but just knowing her type was helpful.
“Oh Jin-ah. What's a washed-up Hunter doing here?”
“Oh my?”
As if quite surprised, Oh Jin-ah's expression turned a little serious.
“Little boy. How did you know?”
“I'll tell you if you're still alive in five minutes.”
As I retorted with her own words, a flush spread across her face. Of course, it wasn't a blush of pleasure.
“Interesting.”
A formless energy surged from the short-haired woman's entire body. A transparent energy that I probably wouldn't have been able to see before. Just as the V1 had indicated, her type was indeed Esper.
And an incredibly strong one at that.
Zap.
“Ugh…!”
A sharp headache suddenly struck. At the same time, various scenes overlapped in my mind. Painful memories from the past.
Like when I had trouble breathing due to poisoning symptoms, or when my sister clung to me, sobbing. A torrent of emotions, too difficult to handle with a clear mind, was assaulting my thoughts.
‘An Illusion Technique…!’
A top-tier technique that violates the target's mind. As expected of an S-ranker, she possessed a skill that most Hunters would be helpless against. Just as I was trying to drive out the splitting headache, I felt a bone-chilling cold from my left.
The man who had been holding Dr. Jin earlier was swinging a large axe.
Whoosh.
I rolled to the side, barely dodging the attack. It ended with just a bit of skin scraped off my forearm, but I was almost split in half.
“Oh my?”
Oh Jin-ah's voice was filled with surprise once again.
“You're really not ordinary, are you? No Hunter has ever dodged this combination attack.”
'No one,' she says. Just how many Hunters have they taken down to be able to say something like that? As expected, these two seemed to be on the complete opposite side of Hunters.
“How did a healer break free from my grasp? They usually end up like that.”
‘Like that…?’
For a moment, I felt my blood run cold. The reason I could withstand Oh Jin-ah's Illusion Technique was because my psychic power rank was 'S'. Espers of the same tier find their psychic powers don't work well against each other.
I thought Oh Jin-ah had only cast her illusion on me. But what if her ruthless mental attack was also directed at the already unstable Dr. Jin?
“Grrgl…”
Dr. Jin's eyes had rolled back completely, showing only the whites. His pants were already soaked, and he was foaming at the mouth. For Dr. Jin, who suffered from paranoia, that attack was as good as a death sentence.
Shhh…
“Dr. Jin…!!”
I poured as much healing energy as I could into Dr. Jin. I considered trying to bring him back to his senses, but I decided against it. His seizure had just subsided.
If he fell under Oh Jin-ah's illusion again, it would be truly irreversible. It was better for him to remain unconscious for a while. Of course, there was no guarantee that Dr. Jin would return to his former self even after he regained consciousness.
Grind.
I withdrew my healing energy and focused the power of Black Ether into Pracel. This was my first time facing an S-rank Esper. Nothing good would come from a prolonged battle.
Now, while they were uncertain about my information, was the perfect time.
‘Poison Flame.’
Fwoosh.
A stream of black flames erupted from the floor. For the first time, a look of shock appeared on Oh Jin-ah's face. As expected, she hadn't anticipated this kind of attack.
BOOM!!
The ground shook with the sound of reinforced metal clashing with Ether. Oh Jin-ah collapsed to the ground, but unfortunately, she wasn't hit. In front of her stood the man, holding a bronze-colored axe.
Na Ji-hwan.
Like Oh Jin-ah, he was an A-rank Knight who had been dishonorably discharged.
‘Just how many of these bastards are there?’
A mix of S and A-rankers was a force comparable to a decent mid-sized guild. To think they'd use that kind of power for such thuggish deeds.
“Wow. I just about pissed myself, honey.”
“…In the end, the boss was right. I thought he'd gotten it wrong this time.”
“90 billion won feels cheap, doesn't it? For the kid's life.”
Thanks to their chatter, I was able to grasp the general situation. At first, I thought they were a group targeting Dr. Jin, but it turned out their target was me. 90 billion won and a life.
It seems someone hired them to kill me. 90 billion won… they sure have a lot of money, the fuckers. I don't remember holding a grudge against anyone that badly.
What kind of deep-seated resentment do they have against me to hire assassins like them to kill me?
‘Think later.’
This is the time to make split-second decisions and move. No matter how much of a Poison-type Hunter I am, my skills haven't fully blossomed yet. Besides, now that they've confirmed I have killing abilities, they'll be more cautious with their attacks from now on.
Rumble…
As if she'd made up her mind, Oh Jin-ah began to draw up her Ether. Her psychic power was so immense that just by her gathering it, Dr. Jin's machines started sending out warning signals.
Warning signals?
It was more than that. The machines all floated into the air at once and began to circle around me.
“…!!”
A skill of a top-tier Esper who could freely manipulate metallic properties. Oh Jin-ah was a Hunter capable of Iron Control. The sight of tons of machinery swirling in the air was nothing short of terrifying.
What kind of damage would that steel typhoon cause if it crashed down in one spot? I thought about trying to evade it with Poison Step, but I quickly had to change my mind. The movement was so fast there was no guarantee I could dodge it, and Dr. Jin was still lying next to me, pale as a sheet.
No choice.
I'll have to take it with my body.
“Kyahaha. Goodbye, little boy.”
With an arrogant gesture, Oh Jin-ah lowered her finger. At the same time, Dr. Jin's machines all descended towards me. You ungrateful lumps of metal.
Forget about me, your creator (?) is here too.
CRRAAAAAAASSSSHHHH.
The ceiling of the underground space had been torn open, and below it, a mountain of machinery had formed. Oh Jin-ah theatrically dusted off her bare skin with both hands.
“Ugh. This is why I hate basements. So much dust.”
“It's been a while since I've seen you use Iron Control. Didn't you say it wasn't worth the effort?”
“He had to go and piss me off, even though he's so young. I seriously thought I was going to die just now, you know? There happened to be a lot of scrap metal around, so I wanted to kill him in one go.”
Na Ji-hwan nodded as he looked at the now spiteful Oh Jin-ah.
“He was definitely a guy worth 90 billion won.”
He wasn't completely caught off guard, but Na Ji-hwan had allowed Cheon Hae-seon to land a blow. The attack wasn't that powerful. But his speed was clearly a cut above his own.
At first, he thought about enduring it with brute force, but unexpectedly, the kid's durability was on par with a decent Knight. In terms of physical power, it felt like he was facing Ryu Seung-rok, the former S-rank Knight renowned as the strongest in Tenebra.
‘It's a good thing he's young… If he'd had a few more years to grow, we might have been the ones to fall.’
Na Ji-hwan stared at the grave of machines, his beady eyes looking out of place on his thick neck. Just reviewing the battle so far made the conclusion clear. Cheon Hae-seon was not a healer.
To be more precise, he wasn't a Hunter who 'only' had a healer's ability.
Multi Ability.
A Multi Ability Hunter, of which there were few not only in the country but in the entire world. Na Ji-hwan was convinced that Cheon Hae-seon possessed multiple abilities.
‘To register a Hunter like this as just a healer. The way they handle things is still idiotic.’
Just as Na Ji-hwan was cursing at the Association. An unbelievable sight unfolded before his eyes.
A stir.
The pile of machines that had buried Cheon Hae-seon and the fat doctor had just twitched.
“…?”
Did I see that wrong? But instead of stopping, the movement grew even more violent.
“Honey… What am I seeing right now…?”
Beside him, Oh Jin-ah also blinked her long eyelashes repeatedly, as if in disbelief. There was no way he could have survived Oh Jin-ah's psychic attack. Even he would have had every bone in his body crushed if he had taken that attack head-on.
An S-rank Knight, especially a tank type, might have been able to withstand it, but Cheon Hae-seon was far from being a tanker.
‘Could it be…?’
An unsettling fragment of thought surfaced in Na Ji-hwan's mind. The scene where he overcame Oh Jin-ah's Illusion Technique and dodged his own attack. It was possible to assume that not only his healing ability but also his psychic power tier was at a high level.
If so.
What if, in addition to psychic power, he also possessed an 'S'-tier physical level?
‘That's impossible…!!’
Even the most renowned Multi Ability Hunters so far hadn't possessed more than two abilities. That was true not just in the country, but across the entire world. Just acquiring two abilities set them apart from other Hunters; there was no way Cheon Hae-seon could have three.
Na Ji-hwan clenched his teeth and glared at the grave of machines.
A twitch.
The mountain of machines, which had been moving subtly, was now heaving enough to be clearly visible. Like an explosive trembling faintly just before detonation, the mountain of machines vibrated repeatedly. He didn't know what it was, but something unusual was coming.
Na Ji-hwan instinctively raised the axe device he had received from Kang Hyeon in front of him. And at that very moment, with a deafening cry, something crimson burst out from the grave of machines.
BOOM!!!!! KIIIAAAAAAAAAAAK!
‘What is that?!’
Na Ji-hwan involuntarily curled his toes. He had been through countless battles, but he had never seen a Monster that exuded such a vicious aura. A large venomous snake covered in crimson scales, as if drenched in blood.
The creature burst from the pile of machines and was charging towards them.
“Kuh…!!”
I'm going to die. That thought crossed Na Ji-hwan's mind. The aura of the approaching Crimson Venom Snake was not a power he could handle.
An overwhelming power that could easily crush an A-rank Knight. Being a Knight himself, he could feel the difference in power viscerally. Na Ji-hwan squeezed his eyes shut, and soon, the Crimson Venom Snake opened its massive maw towards him.
KWAAAAANG!!
“…?”
Na Ji-hwan cautiously opened his closed eyes. A terrible impact sound had occurred as expected, but for some reason, he was unharmed. However, an unfathomably deep hole had appeared right next to him.
And…
“I figured you wouldn't have anything like chivalry.”
Cheon Hae-seon, who had emerged from the pile of machines at some point, was sneering.
Chivalry?
What kind of bullshit is he talking about at a time like this? Just as Na Ji-hwan was about to retort, he had to whip his head around. And his eyes became bloodshot.
“Jin-ah…!!”
The Crimson Venom Snake hadn't been aiming for him from the start. While he was cowering with his eyes shut, the Crimson Venom Snake had devoured Oh Jin-ah. At the edge of the bottomless hole lay Oh Jin-ah's severed arm.
Even though she was retired, an S-rank Esper had been killed in a single blow.
“You son of a bitch…”
Na Ji-hwan's hands trembled as he glared at Cheon Hae-seon. Faced with the death of his colleague and lover, he was on the verge of losing all reason. But the expression on Cheon Hae-seon's face as he met his gaze was utterly cold.
“Are you bastards who kill people for money now playing the victim?”
“…!!”
A brilliant light emanated from the bracelet Cheon Hae-seon was wearing.
“You're next.”