Chapter 24

The car seat exploded, and the vehicle lurched violently.

“Kyaaah!”

Min Seolah screamed.

The explosion had erupted directly behind her back.

Unfortunately, not a single scratch marred her body.

‘As expected. Killing Min Seolah was never going to be that easy.’

Bright light seeped from the magic tools she wore—a reaction to the impact just moments ago.

Truly equipment worth billions.

It would have been stranger if a single explosion could pierce through them.

In truth, Siyoon had agonized over this for a long time.

How to break through that defense.

And after enhancing numerous items, he finally found a method.

That method lay in the Enhancement skill.

‘When Enhancement fails, the item’s effects vanish—and it explodes.’

Siyoon had enhanced every piece of equipment he possessed.

Ultimately, it fell short of killing Min Seolah.

‘But I can weaken them.’

To pierce that defense, he needed to weaken her defensive equipment.

And the explosions triggered by Enhancement failures were a viable possibility.

However, the conditions were quite demanding.

To use this method, he needed to be in close proximity to Min Seolah.

So he calculated meticulously and carefully.

And thus, he managed to lure Min Seolah into a trap.

Ukssin.

Naturally, there was no doing this without a price.

When the explosion occurred, Siyoon, right beside it, also suffered the aftermath.

It would have been stranger if he emerged unscathed.

Min Seolah had defensive equipment; Siyoon did not.

‘This barely qualifies as a sacrifice.’

Siyoon had pushed forward with his plan, fully accounting for even this.

His body was battered from a single explosion.

Min Seolah seemed to notice this and shouted.

“Ha! So all that effort, and your grand plan is suicide?”

“Prattle all you want.”

Siyoon pulled a potion from his waist.

What he drew out was neither mid-rank nor high-rank—it was the lowest-rank potion.

But he downed it in one gulp without a second thought.

Kkulgeok.

[ You have consumed ‘lowest-rank Life Recovery Potion +5’. ]

[ Recovery effect activates immediately. ]

[ Life force is recovered more significantly. ]

[ Pain relief effect is activated. ]

[ Recovery speed slightly increases. ]

This was a potion specially prepared for today.

Swiiik.

The moment Siyoon drank it, his wounds began to close.

At the sight, Min Seolah’s expression stiffened.

“How…?”

Potions with immediate recovery effects were high-rank.

And Min Seolah recognized that Siyoon’s potion was the lowest-rank.

Potions differed in color by rank.

Which made it all the more incomprehensible.

Tek.

Siyoon grabbed the steering wheel with his other hand.

“Wait…!”

Perhaps because she had already experienced one explosion.

She seemed to realize what he was about to do.

But it was already too late.

Kwaaang!

“Aaah!”

The steering wheel in front of Min Seolah exploded from an Enhancement failure.

The powerful blast jolted the car.

Pain rushed in simultaneously.

Kkulgeok.

He endured the pain and wounds with potions.

The luxury of time to suffer was beyond his means right now. Siyoon began slowly enhancing everything inside the car.

Kwajik, Kwajijik!

His body reeled from the consecutive explosions.

It hurt like hell.

But the end was coming into sight.

Kkadeuk—

An ominous sound rang out amidst the explosions.

The source was Min Seolah’s hand.

One of her magic tools had shattered.

Siyoon, undeterred, continued enhancing in rapid succession.

Enhance, enhance, enhance.

And with failure came explosion.

When one detonated, he found the next target.

The rearview mirror and dashboard.

The windows and cup holders.

The digital clock, the navigation system.

Anything he could get his hands on, he detonated without discrimination.

Pasak.

Another magic tool shattered from the chain of explosions.

Bloodshot veins filled her eyes.

“Aaaaaaagh! Stop it!! Let go of this!! Please!!”

Min Seolah screamed hysterically.

Her arrogant pride and attitude had vanished without a trace.

Defensive magic tools she believed would never break.

The magic tools, unable to withstand the explosions, were shattering one by one.

Only then did she feel true terror.

But Siyoon did not stop.

Hududuk.

Bone was visible through Siyoon’s hand, exposed to the explosions.

Siyoon sprinkled a wound treatment potion and swallowed another lowest-rank potion.

Min Seolah recoiled in horror at the sight.

“You’re insane… You’ve completely lost your mind!!”

Potions were not a cure-all.

Even with immediate recovery effects, they didn’t fully heal.

Even the top-rank potions had a cooldown before complete recovery.

And the pain from sustained injuries remained.

Yet right now.

Siyoon ignored that pain and triggered another explosion.

Even as wounds burst open the moment potions healed them, he remained silent.

His calm, tranquil eyes drained the color from Min Seolah’s face.

And finally.

Kadeudeuk.

The last magic tool.

The gemstone embedded in her necklace cracked and shattered.

“Hah, haah…”

The car fell silent.

Only Min Seolah’s ragged breathing, roughened from her thrashing, filled the air.

Between her disheveled strands of hair, her eyes rolled wildly.

Siyoon met that gaze and spoke.

“Your precious equipment has reached its limit, it seems.”

“You…”

Before she could finish.

Siyoon drew a dagger and plunged it into her heart.

Puyuk.

“Ghk!”

From between her lips, blood redder than her lipstick trickled down.

“Kgh, krrgh…”

Min Seolah’s body trembled violently.

Was she unaccustomed to pain?

No, that wasn’t it.

If she were, she wouldn’t be glaring at him like this.

“You think… you’ll get away… with this…?”

“……”

“I’ll… definitely… make you…”

Min Seolah glared at Siyoon until the very end.

With a demonic expression, she ground her teeth as blood spilled from her.

The pain must have been excruciating, yet in a way, it was remarkable.

It meant her rage and hatred toward Siyoon had surpassed even that.

Puk.

“Krrgh…”

Siyoon twisted the dagger embedded in her heart.

Her body tensed momentarily, then went limp.

And just before her shallow breath severed.

“Goodbye.”

He left behind those brief words.

Did it frustrate her that much?

Even as her pupils dilated, her gaze remained fixed on Siyoon.

Even in the moment of death, she glared at him.

Even at the very end, she was venomous to the core.

“Hah.”

Siyoon withdrew the dagger.

He exhaled a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.

The agency that had tried to kill him.

Min Seolah would never open her eyes again.

* * *

After confirming that Min Seolah’s breath had ceased.

Siyoon straightened his back.

Two weeks. The time he had invested solely to kill Min Seolah.

Having achieved his objective, a sense of accomplishment washed over him.

The suffocating rage that had built up felt resolved.

This was an act of revenge.

A profound sense of achievement surged through him for succeeding under such extreme conditions.

But afterward, cold reality rushed in like a tide.

‘I can’t afford to linger here. I need to extract quickly.’

Siyoon had just murdered Min Seolah.

Lingering needlessly and having her bodyguards rush over would be disastrous.

Swift evacuation was the best course of action.

‘I’ll blow up the car.’

To erase the evidence.

To execute this, Siyoon detonated a bomb from inside.

Kwaaaaaang!

Immediately after, an intense explosion engulfed the surroundings.

Just as he intended.

‘Done.’

Pitch-black smoke blanketed the area.

Feeling the heat wave against his back, Siyoon turned away.

The fire that had spread to the surroundings blazed up.

With this, everything was taken care of.

Seureuk.

[ Your appearance blends with the surrounding landscape. ]

[ Your presence becomes significantly faint. ]

Siyoon activated the Breath of the Hermit and the Earring of the Hermit.

His body immediately became hazy, like mist.

He had entered a state of Concealment.

Now he simply needed to slip away.

Siyoon concealed himself amidst the smoke.

The moment he stepped out from the flickering flames.

“You little rat!!”