Chapter 125 – Headhunter (Part Five)

The two locked eyes, their gazes murderous.

The thick killing intent they emanated clashed, and Il-hyeon silently stared at the man he had pinned.

He had met his fair share of terrible bosses during his brief stints in the corporate world.

He had endured their pointless nitpicking and being the undeserving target of their frustrations.

He was confident in his ability to let such bullshit roll off his back; it was never a big deal.

And the world of the Awakened was no different.

Most of the Awakened Il-hyeon encountered in his line of work were individuals who had been treated with deference since childhood, possessing high-ranking abilities or overwhelming talent.

Just as celebrities who had been famous since they were young sometimes turned out to have poor character, the same was true for high-ranking Awakened.

Of course, there were far more good people than he had initially expected, but some would pick fights for the most absurd reasons.

Among them, Seol Ah-yeong, the leader of the government’s Response Team 1, had left the strongest impression.

Still, he could let all of that slide.

But this time was different.

This man had crossed a line that should never have been crossed.

“You’ve got more of a temper than I heard.”

Oh Ji-seok sneered, as if finding the situation pathetic.

He glanced down at Il-hyeon’s arm pressing against his neck.

The force with which he was being held by the collar and slammed against the wall was extraordinary.

“But… how are you going to handle the aftermath of this?”

Oh Ji-seok tapped the arm holding him.

His tone might have sounded casual, but his glistening eyes were filled with murderous intent.

Given his personality, there was no way he would let something like this go quietly.

“Do you even know who you just messed with?”

Oh Ji-seok brought his face close to Il-hyeon’s and spoke.

But despite his confident words, Il-hyeon remained completely unfazed.

It had been a sudden turn of events, but in that brief moment, he had recognized the man’s face.

Oh Ji-seok, the leader of Aegis’s Team E.

He was a high-ranking Awakened, a representative of the martial artist faction who relied solely on pure physical prowess without any special powers.

He was famous for his short temper, which was hard to control, and his rotten personality.

Even Ghost, who rarely spoke ill of others, had badmouthed Oh Ji-seok of Team E on a few occasions.

However, he hadn’t known him to be the type to lash out at a complete stranger so brazenly.

If he were, he would have been kicked out of Aegis long ago. It seemed something Il-hyeon had done had rubbed him the wrong way.

Just when he wished for some quiet, Oh Ji-seok’s mouth kept running.

“Ah… right. You lost your cool when Lee Tae-hee was mentioned. Dozens of people have died right beside me. Are you going to start blubbering just because one colleague died? Nowadays, people come to the field without even being prepared to die…”

With those words, Il-hyeon’s restraint snapped.

The man had crossed the line, and something in his head broke.

*Crack!*

Il-hyeon’s fist slammed squarely into Oh Ji-seok’s face as he spoke.

The tremendous impact snapped his head back, slamming it into the wall.

But Oh Ji-seok, his face protected by the Defensive Coat he was wearing, immediately kicked Il-hyeon away.

“Ha, you son of a… this bastard.”

Oh Ji-seok stumbled but regained his balance. Seeing that Il-hyeon was unarmored, he tore off his still-functional Defensive Coat and tossed it aside.

The two, who had been momentarily separated, closed the distance again.

“St-stop! What are you two doing?”

Sera shouted at the sudden fight.

She tried to get between them, but there was nothing she could do.

Putting aside her team leader, Oh Ji-seok, even Il-hyeon didn’t budge when she tried to hold him back.

His physical strength had grown to a level that was incomparable to the last time she’d seen him.

Il-hyeon silently pushed Sera behind him, then charged forward, throwing a punch.

*CRASH!*

Oh Ji-seok moved to dodge, and the wall behind him shattered under Il-hyeon’s fist.

A nearby staff member stumbled back, witnessing the monstrous battle unfold before his eyes.

“Isn’t… isn’t this serious?”

“Go get someone, quickly!”

At Sera’s shout, the staff member nodded in a daze, then turned and bolted.

Left alone, she watched the fight with anxious eyes.

The one she was worried about was, of course, Il-hyeon, not Oh Ji-seok.

It was true that he had shown incredible abilities and growth while working with them, but this time, his opponent was a bad match.

Abilities were like another weapon for an Awakened, and while Il-hyeon possessed several formidable powers, Oh Ji-seok had none.

The presence or absence of a powerful ability often made a huge difference, and in most cases, the one without an ability was at an absolute disadvantage.

But to look at it another way, among the formidable key team leaders of Aegis, including Lee Soo-yeon and Jo Yoon, Oh Ji-seok had proudly secured his position without any special powers at all.

Indeed, though Il-hyeon was pressing him hard, not a single effective blow had landed.

*Thwack!*

Oh Ji-seok found an opening and kicked, sending Il-hyeon sliding back.

It wasn’t a particularly powerful attack, yet the arm that blocked the kick throbbed with pain.

As Oh Ji-seok immediately kicked off the floor to close the distance, Il-hyeon hastily used an ability.

Thorns erupted in an instant, swarming him from all directions.

But Oh Ji-seok, without even a weapon, shattered all the thorns with his bare body as he advanced.

As expected of an Aegis team leader, he possessed it all: brutishly strong durability, immense power, and nimble speed.

*CRASH!*

A fist broke through the thorns and narrowly grazed past Il-hyeon’s head.

But fragments of the thick, shattered thorns flew everywhere, obscuring the vision of Il-hyeon, who had ducked to avoid the attack.

In that brief moment, it was something the vastly experienced Oh Ji-seok had instinctively aimed for.

However, even with his vision obstructed, Il-hyeon smoothly dodged the subsequent attacks, causing Oh Ji-seok’s brow to twitch.

His entire body was on edge, his senses amplified.

The Predation ability gently scraped at his mind, a sensation that felt like he was on the verge of losing his sanity.

But Il-hyeon held onto that last thread, continuing his precarious tightrope walk.

He had used the Predation ability to enhance his combat senses before, but this was on a completely different level.

While his body moved on instinct, his mind grew colder than ever.

Even amidst the fierce battle, Il-hyeon’s mind was constantly working.

Oh Ji-seok seemed to have extensive experience not only with monsters but also in interpersonal combat. He recognized that the counters following a blocked attack were incredibly threatening.

And contrary to the stories of him using all four limbs freely, he seemed to refrain from extending his left arm—the one he usually held his sword with—as much as possible during hand-to-hand combat.

He didn’t know the reason, but it was definitely something he could exploit. He relentlessly targeted the left side with thorns and vines created by his Transmutation ability.

And the moment he saw an opening, Il-hyeon closed in.

*POW! WHOOSH!*

Their fists collided, and both were pushed back simultaneously.

Oh Ji-seok had a clear advantage in strength, but his arm hadn’t fully extended, preventing him from delivering his full power.

“You arrogant little shit…”

Oh Ji-seok said in a trembling voice, looking down at his throbbing arm.

He seemed thoroughly incensed that Il-hyeon wasn’t being easily overpowered.

A perfect state to be in during a fight.

Il-hyeon let Oh Ji-seok’s charge and outstretched arm pass by a hair’s breadth, then delivered a counter.

*Crack!*

Il-hyeon’s fist, packed with all his strength, landed squarely in his opponent’s abdomen.

Against the overwhelmingly physical Oh Ji-seok, dragging the fight out would be a decisive disadvantage, so he intended to end it right here.

But it wasn’t enough to finish him.

“Is that all you’ve got?”

“……?”

With the fist still buried in his abdomen, Oh Ji-seok grabbed Il-hyeon’s arm.

He looked unbelievably fine for someone who had taken a critical blow head-on.

At the same time, a fist flew toward Il-hyeon’s face.

*BAM!*

The tremendous impact sent Il-hyeon tumbling far away.

He felt two of his left molars fly out of his mouth. It was a dizzying blow that nearly knocked him unconscious.

Amidst it all, Il-hyeon barely managed to regain his senses and struggled back to his feet, finding his balance.

“Let’s see this through to the end, you bastard.”

“Ptui.”

As Oh Ji-seok advanced triumphantly, Il-hyeon silently spat out the blood pooling in his mouth.

As if this were just the beginning, Oh Ji-seok’s glistening eyes made him look every bit the part of his ‘Mad Dog’ nickname.

*CRASH!* With enough force to shatter the floor, they both kicked off the ground and rushed toward each other.

Just before they collided, a swelling force suddenly materialized between them, pushing them both aside.

Like an invisible, plush cushion, something undulated, gently sending them both flying.

“Ugh!”

“Jeong In-hwa…? What do you think you’re doing?”

Oh Ji-seok, who had rolled across the floor just like Il-hyeon, shot back to his feet.

A man was now standing next to Sera.

The man who had intervened with his ability was Jeong In-hwa, one of the temporary team leaders summoned for the current cycle.

“You should stop now, sunbae.”

“Do you have any idea what this bastard did before you start spouting that nonsense?”

“I don’t, but the Director is about to return. It wouldn’t do any good to cause a scene.”

At Jeong In-hwa’s stiff words, Oh Ji-seok’s face filled with irritation.

He let out a long, ragged breath, then turned and picked up the Defensive Coat he had thrown off.

“Damn it, one after another, everyone’s lost their minds. You, you’d better be ready.”

Oh Ji-seok left, and Sera quickly rushed to the fallen Il-hyeon.

Her hand wiped away the blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

“Il-hyeon, are you okay?”

“……”

Even as Sera knelt to check on him, Il-hyeon’s gaze remained fixed on Oh Ji-seok.

***

“Damn it, I should have just finished him right then and there.”

Oh Ji-seok stormed down the hallway, still fuming.

He should have shattered his spine so he could never pretend to be an Awakened again. The regret lingered.

He was so infuriated that even though he had to head out to the field soon, he was in no mood for it.

Just then, feeling something rise in his throat, Oh Ji-seok bent over and covered his mouth.

“Cough! Cough!”

A series of deep coughs wracked his body, and Oh Ji-seok stopped in his tracks.

When the coughing subsided, he looked down, his expression twisting savagely.

His palm, which had covered his mouth, was stained with blood.

Seeing the thick, black blood, Oh Ji-seok’s hand began to tremble with rage.

“Son of a bitch!”